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Space Station Science

Picture of the Day

May 6, 2003

Mercury
Photo credit: ISS Expedition 6 Science Officer Don Pettit, NASA

May 6, 2003: The planet Mercury never ventures very far from the sun,
which makes it remarkably difficult to photograph. Sky watchers on
Earth usually strain to see it through the glow of twilight. Sky
watchers on the space station have an advantage: they can see it
above the glow of twilight. 

International Space Station (ISS) science officer Don Pettit captured
this picture of the planet Mercury late last month. The sun had just
set behind Earth's limb, and Mercury was easy to pick out against the
black canvas of space. 

On May 7th, tomorrow, Mercury will be so close to the sun that even
space station astrophotographers won't be able to separate the two.
For the first time since 1999, Mercury and the sun will actually
overlap. The planet's silhouette, a tiny black disk, will slowly
cross the face our star. The five-hour transit begins at 0513 UT
(01:13 EDT). People in Europe, Africa and Asia using properly
shielded telescopes will have no trouble observing the close
encounter. The crew of the ISS could see it, too, except for one
thing: they don't have a telescope onboard. Mercury's black disk will
be too small to see without one.

For once, sky watchers on Earth have the upper hand. (Note: Never
look at the sun--directly or through a telescope--without suitable
eye protection. Bright sunlight can blind you.) 

Tune into spaceweather.com on May 7th for live views of the 2003
transit of Mercury.

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