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November 11–12, 2019 Mercury Transit

This Mercury transit was visible for several hours in most of the world, including North and South America, Africa, and Europe.

Watch a recording of our Mercury transit LIVE Stream!

Was this transit visible in Washington DC?

2019 Mercury Transit Animation

This is how the 2019 Mercury Transit looked close to the center of the area where it was visible. Note: The location was in the Southern Hemisphere. The transit path can vary depending on your location. The curvature of the planet's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Transit Was Seen

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Because Mercury is so small and far away from Earth, you need a telescope or binoculars with a proper Sun filter to see it.

Where the 2019 Mercury Transit Was Seen

Regions seeing at least some parts of the transit: Europe, West in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.

Expand for some cities that could see at least part of the full transit

Was this transit visible in Washington DC?

Who Could See the Transit

Shades of darkness

Night

Astronomical Twilight (Sun was 12 - 18 degrees below the horizon)

Nautical Twilight (Sun was 6 - 12 degrees below the horizon)

Civil Twilight (Sun was 0 - 6 degrees below the horizon)

Day

Entire transit visible

Parts of transit visible (Sun rose or set during transit)

Transit not visible

When the 2019 Mercury Transit Happened Worldwide — Timeline

This Mercury transit lasted around five and a half hours in total. The May 2016 transit lasted about seven and a half hours. In May 2095, there will be another one almost as long.

This Mercury transit was the last one for 13 years. The next one is on November 12—13, 2032.

Planet transits are normally visible from all locations where the Sun is up. However, because of different viewing angles, the start and end times can vary by a few minutes. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the transit is visible.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location that saw the partial transit beginNov 11 at 12:34:40Nov 11 at 7:34:40 am
Geocentric** partial transit began (ingress, exterior contact)Nov 11 at 12:35:22Nov 11 at 7:35:22 am
First location that saw the full transit beginNov 11 at 12:36:22Nov 11 at 7:36:22 am
Geocentric** full transit began (ingress, interior contact)Nov 11 at 12:37:04Nov 11 at 7:37:04 am
Mercury was closest to the Sun's centerNov 11 at 15:19:48Nov 11 at 10:19:48 am
Geocentric** full transit ended (egress, interior contact)Nov 11 at 18:02:38Nov 11 at 1:02:38 pm
Last location that saw full transit endNov 11 at 18:03:20Nov 11 at 1:03:20 pm
Geocentric** transit ended (egress, exterior contact)Nov 11 at 18:04:19Nov 11 at 1:04:19 pm
Last location that saw partial transit endNov 11 at 18:05:01Nov 11 at 1:05:01 pm

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. Please note that the local times for Washington DC are meant as a guideline in case you want to view the transit via a live webcam. See the actual times the transit is visible in Washington DC.

** The geocentric times refer to a theoretical situation where the transit is viewed from the Earth's center. They are used to provide an approximately average time schedule for astronomical events. Because of varying perspectives, observers on the Earth's surface will experience the transit at slightly different times depending on their location.

Geocentric duration of this Mercury Transit is 5 hours, 28 minutes, 57 seconds.

Transits and eclipses visible in Washington DC

Previous Mercury Transit was on May 9, 2016.

Next Mercury Transit will be on Nov 13, 2032

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds