Thursday 14 / November / 2024
Muscat: Mercury sailing across the Sun as a dark spot can be seen from Earth tomorrow (Monday) between 3:15pm and 6 in Oman, an official from the Oman Astronomical Society (OAS) said.
Read here/ Transit of Mercury: Oman to witness rare astronomical event
“Special arrangements have been made at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque for the public to watch this rare event,” Saleh Al Shidhani from the OAS said.
“It is never safe to watch the transit without taking special precautions as it can cause damage to eyes,” Saleh added.
The last time Mercury crossed in front of the Sun was 2006.
The ‘Transit of Mercury’ happens when the Solar System’s innermost planet comes directly between the Sun and the Earth at an angle which allows it to be seen in silhouette.
Transits of Mercury are relatively rare events, with approximately 13 occurring every century in either November or May.
They occur in pairs, with the transit on May 9 being the first of the pair that will see its counterpart occur on November 11, 2019.
After 2019, we will have to wait until November 13, 2032 to see another Transit of Mercury.
It was viewing the Transit of Mercury of 7 November 1677 that astronomer Edmond Halley realised that planetary transits could be used to measure the Earth’s distance from the Sun.
The only other planet to transit is Venus because it is also closer to the Sun than the Earth is. All the other planets have orbits bigger than our's and so cannot pass between the Earth and Sun.
