Planet Mercury transiting in front of the sun

Description:

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Seen from the Earth, it therefore does not move far from it and occasionally passes squarely in front of the surface of the Sun. Their size difference is enormous. Mercury is only 4,900 km in diameter while the Sun is more like 1.4 million km, 284 times wider.

On May 9, 2016, Mercury passed in front of the Sun and the size difference is clearly visible. In this photo, which I was able to take using a specialized filter, we only see part of the Sun’s disk. Mercury is profiled in black because we can see its side not illuminated by the Sun.