OFFSET
1,1
COMMENTS
A transit is a kind of eclipse, in which a planet is seen to "transit" across the sun. The transiting planet appears as a small black dot slowly making its way across the sun's area.
Transits are predictable events, but certain characteristics of the orbit of Mercury in relation to the orbit of Earth complicate the pattern. For those years in which a Mercury transit occurs, it occurs in either May or November. Each transit is separated by 3.5, 7, 9.5, 10 or 13 years. Barring any significant changes to the orbits of the planets in the solar system, the predicted transits should occur as expected.
LINKS
Fred Espenak, Transits of Mercury: Seven Century Catalog, 1601 CE to 2300 CE Provides detailed time and place data as well as some explanations specific to Mercury transits.
Amy Simon-Miller, Planetary Transits Across the Sun. Provides a general explanation of the concept of planetary transits and links to many more resources on the topic.
CROSSREFS
KEYWORD
nonn
AUTHOR
Paul Muljadi, Dec 09 2009
EXTENSIONS
With data from NASA, terms verified by Alonso del Arte Dec 10 2009
STATUS
approved