On Monday May 9th, Mercury, the tiniest planet and closest to the sun, passed between the Earth and the sun for the first time since 2006 – an event that only occurs about a dozen times every century. 

 

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the whole show from orbit, and the fine folks at NASA have created an absolutely jaw-dropping composite video of the footage. Capturing in realtime the little planet’s movements in the visible spectrum, and also bands of ultraviolet light, scientists hope to learn more about the rocky planets ultra-thin atmosphere. 

 

Check out the stellar video below and try not to freak out thinking about the vastness of the universe.