Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet inside our Solar System. Mercury's orbit around the Sun takes only 87.97 days, the shortest of all the planets and is named after the Roman deity Mercury, the messenger of the gods.
Could this be a message? Skywatchers all over the globe got the chance to witness a 'rare celestial event' today, as the planet Mercury passes in front of the sun for the first time in 13 years.
This event, known as a 'transit', was visible from nearly everywhere on Earth with the right equipment - depending on cloud cover.
The transit began at 11:35 GMT (04:35 PST) and will last for about 5.5 hours, so there's plenty of time to catch the show.
Viewers in certain areas, such as the West Coast of the United States, will not be able to see it until the Sun is visible in the sky.
At approximately 15:20 GMT (08.20 PST), Mercury will be as close as it is going to get to the center of the Sun. Note that this celestial event will not occur for another 33 years.
