Mercury is about to glide through the Sun disk

Astronomers can observe the rare event when Mercury passes over the Sun disk for several hours on May 9.

According to Discovery News, the event took place 10 years after Mercury moved closest to the Sun in November 2006 and it is expected that astronomers will have an opportunity to observe the next shift.

The image of Mercury shifts through the Sun as recorded by Japan's Hinode Sun Observatory in 2006. (Photo: JAXA).

The small black shadow of Mercury will cross the Sun disk for a period of 7 hours, from 11:00 to 18:00 42 minutes. If the weather is favorable, most parts of the Americas and Western Europe will be able to observe the entire process.The most visible area is Africa and parts of Asia . People in East Asia and Australia cannot follow this event because of the time of falling at night. Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, will pass between the Earth and the Sun, but only obscures 1/150 of the Sun's disk.

This is an opportunity for astronomers to conduct some scientific research. When Mercury shifts through the Sun's disk , they can observe the outer space, the very thin air layer outside the planet. Mercury's outer atmosphere forms when the solar wind continuously sweeps over the rock surface, causing the gas molecules to curl like a comet's tail.

By observing sunlight through the outer space, astronomers can learn about the Sun's interaction with celestial bodies.