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November 14–15, 1953 Mercury Transit

Was this transit visible in Columbus?

1953 Mercury Transit Animation

This is how the 1953 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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Where the 1953 Mercury Transit Was Seen

Regions seeing at least some parts of the transit: South/West Europe, Much of 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 Columbus?

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 1953 Mercury Transit Happened Worldwide — Timeline

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 Columbus*
First location that saw the partial transit beginNov 14 at 15:35:22Nov 14 at 10:35:22 am
Geocentric** partial transit began (ingress, exterior contact)Nov 14 at 15:36:49Nov 14 at 10:36:49 am
First location that saw the full transit beginNov 14 at 15:38:56Nov 14 at 10:38:56 am
Geocentric** full transit began (ingress, interior contact)Nov 14 at 15:40:27Nov 14 at 10:40:27 am
Mercury was closest to the Sun's centerNov 14 at 16:53:46Nov 14 at 11:53:46 am
Geocentric** full transit ended (egress, interior contact)Nov 14 at 18:07:07Nov 14 at 1:07:07 pm
Last location that saw full transit endNov 14 at 18:08:38Nov 14 at 1:08:38 pm
Geocentric** transit ended (egress, exterior contact)Nov 14 at 18:10:45Nov 14 at 1:10:45 pm
Last location that saw partial transit endNov 14 at 18:12:12Nov 14 at 1:12:12 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 Columbus 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 Columbus.

** 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 2 hours, 33 minutes, 56 seconds.

Transits and eclipses visible in Columbus

Next Mercury Transit will be on May 5 – May 6, 1957

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds