Mercury transit on May 9, 2016: NASA explains it all in new video – Watch!

New Delhi: As skygazers get ready to witness the transit of Mercury on Monday (May 9), NASA has released a new video that tells every detail of the rare celestial event, which occurs only13 or 14 times per century.

 

Watch: NASA's video of the transit here

Video credit: ScienceAtNASA/YouTube

On Monday, Mercury - our solar system's smallest planet - will journey directly in front of the Sun, offering a rare viewing opportunity for professional astronomers and backyard sky watchers alike.

The transit begins at 11:12 Universal Time (UT) and ends 7 and a half hours later, at 18:42 UT. That's 7:12 a.m. EDT, transit midpoint at 11:58 a.m., and end at 2:42 p.m. EDT.

According to NASA, a transit occurs when one astronomical body appears to move across the face of another as seen from Earth or from a spacecraft.

Skywatchers who miss Monday's transit will have to wait until November 2019 to catch a glimpse of the rare celestial phenomenon. However, in India, the next one won't be visible until 2032.