The sky on
your birthday.
“Mercury's Transit: An Unusual Spot on the Sun” is copyrighted by David Cortner. NASA has permission to show it and we don't, so it isn't on this card.
See it on NASA's siteThis image shows Mercury transiting the Sun, an event that occurred in 2006. Mercury appears as a perfectly round, dark spot against the bright solar disk. Unlike a lunar eclipse, where the Moon blocks the Sun, here Mercury passes directly between the Sun and Earth. As Mercury approached alignment, its phase became a thin crescent, eventually appearing as a dark circle.
The Sun on 8 May 2016
NASA SDO took this picture on 8 May 2016, the day itself, not a release date.
We cannot put this date's photograph on paper at poster size. We can print the nearest public archive plate to your date instead.
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Released on your day
Space pictures released on your month and day in other years, or a few days either side. Each one is sharp enough to print as a poster.
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The Sun on your day The Sun on 8 May 2016 See it as a poster -
The Earth on your day The Earth on 8 May 2016 · Persian Gulf See it as a poster -
Released on 8 May 2006 Descent Panorama of Saturn's Titan See it as a poster -
Released on 8 May 2006 Victoria on Opportunity Horizon Orbital View See it as a poster -
Released on 8 May 2022 Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512: The Inner Rings See it as a poster -
Released on 8 May 2017 Close encounter See it as a poster -
Released on 8 May 2019 The waxing crescent moon is photographed just above Earth's limb and the bluish hue of the atmosphere at the beginning See it as a poster
In tropical astrology, 8 MAY 2016 falls under Taurus (♉). The sign's window runs from 04-20 through 05-20. Taurus holds the Pleiades star cluster and Aldebaran, the red giant that marks the eye of the Bull. The Sun was crossing this region of the sky on 8 MAY 2016.
Questions about May 8, 2016
What space photo was released on May 8, 2016?
NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 8, 2016 was "Mercury's Transit: An Unusual Spot on the Sun". It's a photographer's copyrighted image, so we link to it on NASA's site and show the Sun or the Earth that day instead.
What was the Moon's phase on May 8, 2016?
A new moon, about 3% lit.
What day of the week was May 8, 2016?
May 8, 2016 was a Sunday, day 129 of the 366 days in 2016.
Was there a meteor shower on May 8, 2016?
Yes: the Eta Aquariid shower, peaked 2 days ago.
What did the Sun and the Earth look like on May 8, 2016?
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the Sun that day, and NASA's Terra satellite photographed the whole Earth. Both are on this page, next to the card.
Is it free?
Yes. Seeing, sharing and downloading the card is free, and there's no account to make.