Mercury Makes Rare Trip Across The Sun
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CAPE CANAVERAL (CBSMiami/AP) — In a super rare occurrence, Mercury is moving across the sun Monday.
Visible just after 7 a.m., the smallest planet appeared as a tiny black dot on the face of the sun, and the transit lasts for about 7½ hours. The last time it happened was 2006. After Monday, it won't happen again until 2032.
NASA says the event occurs only about 13 times a century.
The entirety of Mercury's journey is viewable to the eastern U.S. and Canada, as well as most of western Europe and South America.
To catch a glimpse of the solar-planetary ballet, viewers need binoculars or telescopes with protective solar filters. Mercury's journey can be seen on NASA's website.
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