A few times every century, Mercury and Earth's orbits align. When that happens, some people on Earth can watch Mercury pass in front of the sun. During this transit, Mercury will look like a tiny black dot blocking out the sun's light.

In this animation, Mercury, Earth, the Sun, and the Moon all describe what a transit of Mercury is, what it looks like, and why it happens the way it does.

Share this video in your classroom or with your learners at home for some fun insight into planetary events and science fun facts.

For a free coordinating coloring page, see: https://mhed.us/MercuryTransitYT1

For information on safe viewing of the transit, see:
https://www.space.com/32819mercuryt...

To watch the transit online, see:

NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/eclipse

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasat...

Facebook
  / nasa  

European Space Agency
https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/cesar/...


For more videos featuring the planets, watch:

   • The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse  

   • Teach Your Students About Earth Day &...