Transit Of Mercury To Put On Show Monday

By Chris Spears

DENVER (CBS4) - There will be some excitement in the sky on May 9 as the planet Mercury puts on a show with the Sun.

The event will begin just after 5 a.m. for the mountain time zone and will already be in progress upon sunrise.

Denver's sunrise is at 5:51 a.m. on Monday.

(credit: CBS4/Colorado's Weather Center)

If you plan to view the transit be sure to have a telescope with a filter to protect your eyes.

Those without a filter can project an image of the Sun's disk onto a piece of paper using a low-powered eyepiece.

(credit: CBS4/Colorado's Weather Center)

The last transit of Mercury was on Nov. 8, 2006 and the next one will be on Nov. 11, 2019.

For more detailed information about this event click here to read "May 9th Transit of Mercury: Everything You Need to Know" by Sky and Telescope magazine.

Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.