How to Watch the Transit of Mercury This Monday and Use It to Engage Students in STEM

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Title: A Teachable Moment in the Sky: The Transit of Mercury

A Teachable Moment in the Sky: The Transit of Mercury

It only happens about 13 times a century and won’t happen again until 2032, so don’t miss the transit of Mercury on Monday, Nov. 11! A transit happens when a planet crosses in front of a star. From our perspective on Earth, we only ever see two planets transit the Sun: Mercury and Venus. This is because these are the only planets between us and the Sun. (Transits of Venus are especially rare. The next one won’t happen until 2117.) During the upcoming transit of Mercury, viewers around Earth will be able to see a tiny dark spot moving slowly across the disk of the Sun.

WARNING! Looking at the Sun directly or through a telescope without proper protection can lead to serious and permanent vision damage. Do not look directly at the Sun without a certified solar filter.

In the latest Teachable Moment from NASA/JPL Edu, education specialist Lyle Tavernier explains how transits have helped scientists of the past and present study space – and even hunt for potentially habitable worlds outside our solar system. Find out how to watch the transit on November 11, plus get resources to engage students in this rare celestial event.

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Related Lessons and Activities

Use these lessons and activities to engage students in the transit of Mercury and the hunt for planets beyond our solar system:

	Lesson: Exploring Exoplanets with Kepler (Grades 6-12) – Students use math concepts related to transits to discover real-world data about Mercury, Venus and planets outside our solar system.
	Lesson: Sun Screen – A 'Pi in the Sky' Math Challenge (Grades 6-9) – When Mercury passes in front of the Sun, how much sunlight is lost on Earth? Students use the mathematical constant pi to find the solution in this illustrated math challenge.
	Lesson: Solar Sleuth – A 'Pi in the Sky' Math Challenge (Grades 6-9) – In this illustrated math problem, students use pi and data from the Kepler space telescope to find the size of a planet outside our solar system.
	Slideshow: Can You Spot Mercury? – Play science sleuth and see if you can spot Mercury passing in front of – or transiting – the sun in these images from NASA.
	List: Oh, the Places We Go – 18 Ways NASA Uses Pi – Whether it's sending spacecraft to other planets, driving rovers on Mars, finding out what planets are made of or how deep alien oceans are, pi takes us far at NASA. Find out how pi helps us explore space.