Mercury also has features called "hallows" that have never been seen anywhere else. The epic volcanic events that must have occurred to cause that are intriguing," she said. "One is that it's got these giant areas of volcanic lava that have flowed across the surface in ancient times, which takes up an area more than half the size of the U.S. Chabot said she "didn't want to pick favorites," but found three features to be particularly intriguing: Her team learned plenty of fascinating things about Mercury during the mission. If you missed the 2012 transit, you're out of luck. Venusian transits are more rare, but also a little easier to keep track of: They happen in pairs separated by eight years, with each pair separated from the next by a century and some change. Venus - the only other planet between us and the sun, so also the only other planet that transits from our perspective - orbits much more slowly and on a plane slightly less skewed than Mercury's. That combination of factors makes for some pretty wonky math: There's a pattern to the frequency of Mercury's transits, but it's not as simple as "every x number of years." It's more like "every x number of years for awhile, then y, then z, then y again, and then z three times because why the heck not." Orbital resonance is weird. So its intersection with our orbit has to happen when it's also intersecting with our orbital plane. It orbits the sun on a tilted trajectory, by our perspective. How do we average out at just 13 for every 100 years? Mercury passes between the Earth and the sun every 116 days, but its orbital plane is skewed away from our own by a few degrees. Wait, you say - that's a lot of transits to have in just over a decade. If you live near an observatory or science center, you should check out their plans - you may be able to pop in and take a peek on their telescope. You can also check out NASA's websites and social media accounts for live image updates. If you don't have a filter handy, you can use a sheet of paper to rig up a safe viewing method - you can project the image of the sun (in the form of a white disk) onto a sheet of paper, then watch the black dot of Mercury crawl across it. If you have your own telescope, you can watch the event using a safety filter to protect your eyes from the sun. You shouldn't stare directly into the sun (ouch), but by watching online or using a telescope with a special filter, you can see Mercury in all its tiny glory. Most of the world, including the United States, on Monday will be able to see the planet as a tiny black dot passing slowly in front of its host star. It happens around 13 times a century: From our perspective, Mercury - the smallest planet in our solar system - will pass in front of the sun.
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