CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA is showing photos and videos of the Transit of Mercury here.
NASA will also be hosting a discussion about the event on its Facebook page.
Mercury is making a relatively rare transit of the sun Monday.
The solar system's smallest, innermost planet will resemble a black round dot as it passes in front of our big, bright star. The last time Mercury crossed directly between the Earth and sun was in 2006, and it won't happen again until 2019 - and then, until 2032. NASA says the event occurs only about 13 times a century.
Louis Mayo, program manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, considers it "a big deal."
"Astronomers get excited when any two things come close to each other in the heavens," Mayo said in a statement.
The eastern U.S. and Canada will see the entire 7 1/2-hour transit, as will most of South America, western Europe and westernmost Africa.
Forget eclipse glasses. At barely 3,000 miles across, Mercury would be too small to spot. You'll need binoculars or telescopes equipped with proper solar filters to protect your eyes.
Look for Mercury south of the sun's equator. The planet might appear as though it's hardly moving, but in reality it will be zooming past the sun at nearly 106,000 mph.
Astronomers have been observing Mercury transits since the 1600s. Monday's occurrence will allow scientists to fine-tune instruments aboard solar observatories like SDO and learn even more about the sun.
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NASA: www.nasa.gov/transit
