Watch as Mercury moves in front of the Sun
During this transit, the planet Mercury becomes visible as a tiny dot slowly moving across the Sun. In our solar system, Mercury is the first planet from the Sun; Earth is the third.
Watching this transit in the sky? Then don't forget: NEVER look at the Sun without adequate eye protection!
For media enquiries, please visit our Media & Press Page.
A special thanks to our streaming partners.
Enjoy the rest of the show!
The fog seems to be slowly clearing in Los Angeles, so we are switching to the stream provided by Griffith Observatory. Please sit back and enjoy the rest of the broadcast!
Join us again next time our mobile observatory hits the road to cover one of the upcoming celestial events.
And, if you plan to watch one of the next eclipses in the sky, there is no better companion for eclipse chasers than our Eclipses Apps for iOS and Android!
Transit midpoint
As the Sun rises in Vancouver and sets in eastern Europe and eastern Africa, the transit reaches its midpoint. Viewed from Earth, Mercury now appears very close to the center of the Sun's disk. It will now slowly move across the other half of the disk, before leaving it at 18:03 UTC.
Unfortunately, it's still foggy in California, but we are still hoping it will clear up soon so we can show you some more live telescope footage...
More live footage coming up...
Please stick around for more live Mercury transit telescope footage from Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. It's a little foggy there now, but the fog is expected to clear soon.
Transit midpoint in 30 minutes
At 15:19 UTC, just after sunset in Ålesund, Mercury will reach the position closest to the center of the Sun's disk, as seen from Earth. This moment marks the midpoint of this planet transit.
Make sure to savor this moment because during this transit, Mercury will appear closer to the center of the solar disk than during any other transit in the 21st century.
Sun about to set in Ålesund
The Sun is about to set in Ålesund, where our mobile observatory is currently capturing this Mercury transit. But this live stream is far from over as we are getting ready to bring you more live Mercury transit footage from the other side of the planet, courtesy of our friends at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California.
Lucky South Americans
While this transit is visible in many parts of the globe, South America is the prime location to see it from start to finish. In fact, the Sun is now positioned directly above the Atlantic coast of Brazil, and the transit is visible all across the continent.
Sun and Mercury rise on the US west coast
The Sun is about to rise on the west coast of the United States. Southern locations like San Diego (sunrise at 6:16 am local time) getting a first glimpse quite a bit earlier than locations farther north, such as San Francisco (sunrise at 6:47 am) and Seattle (sunrise at 7:10 am).
Days are longer than years
What's more, as a resident of Mercury, you might get a little confused about time. The planet revolves around the Sun about once every 88 Earth days, but it takes about 176 Earth days to rotate around its own axis. So, on Mercury, a day is twice as long as a year.
Sweltering hot days, freezing cold nights
Fancy living on a different planet? Well, don't choose Mercury because life there is a little, well... uncomfortable.
The planet doesn't have much of an atmosphere, which is kind of a disadvantage in itself. But that also means that the daytime surface temperature can reach around 427 °C (800 °F), while the temperature on the night side of the planet, which we are looking at right now, can drop to −173 °C (−280 °F).
About a 5th of the way
The transit is well underway now, and Mercury has completed about a 5th of its journey across the solar disk, as seen from Earth.
The area where the transit is visible is slowly shifting eastward due to the Earth's rotation. The Sun is now rising in central areas of the US and Canada and setting in western parts of Asia.