On Monday, November 11, people of Cyprus will have a chance to observe a rare celestial event: the planet Mercury transit (passage) across the sun disk. The phenomenon is relatively rare. From our perspective, only transits of Mercury and Venus are visible. Mercury will take nearly 5.5 hours to cross in front of the sun.

In Cyprus, Mercury will touch the outer edge of the Sun at 2:35 pm local time. The process will conclude at 8:04 pm. However, it will be seen only before sunset at 4:43 pm.

In addition, special precautions must be taken when viewing the dazzling solar disk. Be very careful to never look directly at the sun with a telescope. The visual requirements are identical to those for observing sunspots and partial solar eclipses — you need to use special solar filters to protect your eyes. It is far safer to project the sun’s image through a telescope and onto a white card or screen.