Abu Dhabi: A viewing event was organised by the International Astronomical Centre (IAC) and the UAE Space Agency on Monday to witness the transit of Mercury across the Sun.
The transit of Mercury, which takes place 14 times in a century, occurs when the planet gets between the Earth and the Sun, and as a result the planet can be seen moving across the Sun.
To capture the moment, the IAC brought specialised telescopes to the viewing to monitor the transit and to broadcast it on connected public screens.
“What is basically happening is that the planet Mercury is orbiting the sun, and the planet is getting in a line with the Sun and this is why we are able to see Mercury crossing the Sun,” said Mohammad Odeh, IAC manager.
“This is quite a rare event, with the last one taking place in 2016. The next transit is projected to take place in 2019, followed by the year 2032.
“In total it will take Mercury around seven hours to cross the Sun. The transit is visible across the Arab region including the UAE, with the transit being visible at 3.11pm local time,” he added.
Khalfan Al Rumaithi, who works as a space technology engineer at the UAE Space Agency, said the organisation was supporting such events in order to create a passion for astronomy in the UAE.
“We see this event as an outreach to young people and to raise space awareness in the country. We want to spark a passion for studying astronomy and space science among the young students in the country, and we definitely plan to have more events in the future.
“Astronomy sciences is an Islamic legacy, and we believe that through such events we can raise this legacy once again, by encouraging and motivating young people to study astronomy,” he added.
