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                       Mercury Begins Transit Across Sun

   by VOA News

   In a rare cosmic occurrence, Mercury has begun to move across the sun.
   It's called the transit of Mercury, and it started at around 7 a.m.
   local time in Washington.
   During the event, the smallest planet will move across the sun for
   about 7.5 hours.
   The last transit was in 2006, and the next one will be in 2019 and then
   again in 2032. Transits happen around 13 times each century, according
   to astronomers.
   The transit are rare because Mercury's orbit is tilted relative to
   Earth. Mercury orbits the Sun once every 88 days.
   Mercury is one third the size of Earth.
   Sky watchers in eastern North America, Western Europe, Northwestern
   Africa and South America should have the best views of the event. To
   see it, you'll want to make sure your binoculars and telescopes have
   filters to protect your eyes from the sun's brightness.
   NASA is also [1]live streaming the event.

   Here's a video about the event:

   ''

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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/mht-mercury-begins-transit-across-the
   -sun/3321540.html

References

   1. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/mht-mercury-begins-transit-across-the-sun/3321540.html