Transit of Mercury on November 8, 2006 with sunspots #921, 922, and 923

Transit of Mercury (time lapse showing entire event)

A transit of Mercury across the Sun takes place when the planet Mercury comes between the Sun and the Earth, and Mercury is seen as a small black dot moving across the face of the Sun. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A sunspot is a region on the Sun 's surface ( Photosphere) that is marked by intense magnetic activity which inhibits Convection, forming The term transit or astronomical transit has three meanings in astronomy A transit is the astronomical event that occurs when one The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 On November 8, 2006, the planet Mercury could be last seen going across the sun. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The best place to have observed the transit on that date was in Hawaii. The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the

Transits of Mercury with respect to Earth are much more frequent than transits of Venus, with about 13 or 14 per century, in part because Mercury is closer to the Sun and orbits it more rapidly. A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the Planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, obscuring a small portion of the The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System.

Transits of Mercury can happen in May or November. November transits occur at intervals of 7, 13, or 33 years ; May transits only occur at intervals of 13 or 33 years. The last three transits occurred in 1999, 2003 and 2006 ; the next will occur in 2016. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 2016 ( MMXVI) will be a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar.

During a May transit, Mercury is near aphelion and has an angular diameter of 12" ; during a November transit, it is near perihelion and has an angular diameter of 10". In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from The angular diameter of an object as seen from a given position is the "visual diameter" of the object measured as an angle In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from

Grazing transits of Mercury

Sometimes Mercury only grazes the Sun during a transit. In this case it is possible that in some areas of the Earth a full transit can be seen while in other regions there is only a partial transit (no second or third contact). The transit of November 15, 1999 was such a transit, and the previous one before that was on October 28, 743. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine Events By Place Europe After an Interregnum of seven years Childeric III re-succeeds to the throne of the Frankish Empire The next such transit will occur on May 11, 2391. The 24th century of the Anno Domini ( common) era will span the years 2301&ndash2400 of the Gregorian calendar.

It is also possible that a transit of Mercury can be seen in some parts of the world as a partial transit, while in others Mercury misses the Sun. Such a transit last occurred on May 11, 1937, and the previous one was on October 21, 1342. Events 330 - Byzantium is renamed ''Nova Roma'' during a dedication ceremony but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. The next such transit will occur on May 13, 2608. The 27th century of the Anno Domini ( common) era will span the years 2601&ndash2700 of the Gregorian calendar.

Simultaneous transits

The simultaneous occurrence of a transit of Mercury and a transit of Venus is extremely rare, and will next occur only in the years 69,163 and 224,508. A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the Planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, obscuring a small portion of the
In September 13, 13,425 an almost identical event is predicted : a transit of Mercury and a transit of Venus will follow themselves, one after the other, in an interval of only 16 hours.

The simultaneous occurrence of a solar eclipse and a transit of Mercury is very rare. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured The next solar eclipse occurring during a transit of Mercury will be on July 5, 6757, and will be visible in Eastern Siberia. The 7th millennium is a period of time that will begin on January 1, 6001 and will end on December 31, 7000 Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving

Past and future transits

Although a spot on the Sun observed as early as 807 is believed by many experts to have been a transit of Mercury^[1], the first observation of a transit of Mercury was on November 7, 1631 by Pierre Gassendi. This article is about the year For the car see Peugeot 807. For the Vacuum tube, see 6L6. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Pierre Gassendi ( January 22, 1592 &ndash October 24, 1655) was a French Philosopher, priest, Scientist Johannes Kepler had however predicted the occurrence of transits of Mercury and Venus some time before that. Johannes Kepler (ˈkɛplɚ ( December 27 1571 &ndash November 15 1630) was a German Mathematician, Astronomer He unsuccessfully attempted to observe the transit of Venus just one month later, but due to inaccurate astronomical tables he did not realize that it was not visible from most of Europe, including Paris. A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the Planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, obscuring a small portion of the Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city A transit of Venus was not observed until 1639, by Jeremiah Horrocks. Jeremiah Horrocks (1618 &ndash January 3, 1641) sometimes given as Jeremiah Horrox (the Latinised version that he used on the Emmanuel College register

References

• Cunningham, Clifford J. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration 2016 ( MMXVI) will be a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of 2019 ( MMXIX) will be a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare 2032 ( MMXXXII) will be a Leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar Predicted events November Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St 2039 ( MMXXXIX) will be a Common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat 2049 ( MMXLIX) will be a Common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses 2052 ( MMLII) will be a Leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Notable predictions and known events 2061 Expected expiration of the Singapore-Malaysia Water Agreement. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Notable predictions and known events 2061 Expected expiration of the Singapore-Malaysia Water Agreement. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Notable predictions and known events 2070 February - An Active SETI message called Teen Age Message sent from the 70-meter Eupatoria Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Notable predictions and known events 2082 All Classified information held by the British Government about the Falklands War Events 1492 - The Ensisheim Meteorite the oldest Meteorite with a known date of impact strikes the Earth around noon in a Wheat The 2090s is a Decade that will start in the year 2090 and end in the year 2099. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen The 2090s is a Decade that will start in the year 2090 and end in the year 2099. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. , "Mercury's Time to Shine," Mercury Sep-Oct 2006.

See also

• Astronomical transit
• Black Drop Effect

External links

• NASA: Transits of Mercury, Seven Century Catalog: 1601 CE to 2300 CE
• NASA: Image from the transit of Mercury in 2003
• Shadow & Substance.com: Transit of Mercury Animated for November 8, 2006