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Credit & Copyright: Martin Wise
Explanation:
The small, dark,
round spot in this solar close up is planet Mercury.
In the high resolution telescopic image, a colorized
stack of 61 sharp video frames,
a turbulent array of photospheric convection cells tile
the bright solar surface.
Mercury's more regular silhouette still stands out though.
Of course, only inner planets Mercury
and
Venus
can transit the Sun to appear in silhouette when viewed
from planet Earth.
For this
November 11, 2019
transit of Mercury, the
innermost
planet's silhouette
was a mere 1/200th the solar diameter.
So even under clear daytime skies it was difficult to see
without the aid of a safe solar telescope.
Following its transit
in 2016, this was Mercury's 4th of 14
transits across the solar disk
in
the 21st century.
The next transit of Mercury will be on November 13, 2032.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Mercury - transit
Publications with words: Mercury - transit
See also: