A rare, but normal, astronomical event occurred today as the planet Mercury passed in front of the Sun from the perspective of the Earth. The event, called a transit was at least partially visible from most of the planet, except from Europe when the transit happened during local nighttime. Such rare events have fascinated astronomers since the invention of the telescope first allowed them to view them. Captain Cook , for example, found Australia's east coast while on a voyage to track the transit of Venus in 1769. Recording these transits allowed astronomers to make the first accurate calculations of the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
A rare, but normal, astronomical event occurred today as the planet Mercury passed in front of the Sun from the perspective of the Earth. The event, called a was at least partially visible from most of the planet, except from Europe when the transit happened during local nighttime. Such rare events have fascinated astronomers since the invention of the telescope first allowed them to view them. , for example, found Australia's east coast while on a voyage to track the transit of in 1769. Recording these transits allowed astronomers to make the first accurate calculations of the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
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