The planet Mercury has passed in front of the Sun as viewed from Earth.

The event, called a transit, occurs only about 12 times a century.

Mercury began the journey across the star's disc at just after 0510 GMT, depending on the viewing location on Earth. It slipped off the star's face at about 1032 GMT.

Some part of the five-hour trek was visible from the whole world except Antarctica and the western parts of the Americas. Europe, Asia and Africa were most favoured.

Skygazers without access to proper equipment were strongly recommended to watch the event only on the internet.

The websites of several organisations, including the European Southern Observatory (Eso) and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (Soho), which streamed the transit live, reported strong traffic.

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BBC Science