Mercury makes rare move across the sun

Visual from Kolkata: Transit of planet Mercury across the Sun, happens only 13-14 times in a century (ANI photo)

Mercury makes a relatively rare move across the sun Monday.

Visible just after 7 a.m. on the east coast, the smallest planet will appear as a tiny black dot on the face of the sun, and the transit will last for about 7 1/2 hours. The last time it happened was 2006. It will happen again three years from now, but then not until 2032. NASA says the event occurs only about 13 times a century.

The entirety of Mercury’s journey will be viewable to the eastern U.S. and Canada, as well as most of western Europe and South America.

To catch a glimpse of the solar-planetary ballet, viewers will need binoculars or telescopes with protective solar filters. Mercury’s journey can also be seen on NASA’s website , where it will be livestreamed.