Watch Mercury Pass in Front of the Sun This Monday (NASA Preview Video)

By BEA KARNES (Patch Staff)

The Transit of Mercury is a rare astrological event that only happens about 13 times a century. The last time was in 2006 and the next time will be in 2019.

Simply put, Mercury will cross in front of the sun from our earthly vantage point.

Jane Houston Jones of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab said in a posting, “You'll need to view the sun and Mercury through a solar filter when looking through a telescope or when projecting the image of the solar disk onto a safe surface. Look a little south of the sun's Equator.”

In New Jersey’s Eastern time zone, the transit will begin shortly before sunrise and finish around 8:45 a.m., with the midpoint across the sun around 11 a.m. After suffering through a whole week of rainy, overcast weather, the skies are supposed to be partly cloudy Monday morning, which should make it possible to check out the event.

Protect your eyes! Do not look straight at the sun to view this event; you can permanently damage your retinas. There are simple do-it-yourself pinhole projectors; see the included photo for a diagram of one you can use for this or a solar eclipse, or click here for more information.

If you miss Monday’s event, the next Mercury transit will be Nov. 11, 2019.

Check out NASA’s video on the Transit of Mercury.

--Photo via NASA