The Japanese Space Agency's new orbiting solar observatory, Hinode (formerly known as Solar B), took the picture on Nov. 8th just as Mercury was about to begin a rare solar transit. Thousands of people on Earth saw and photographed the event, but Hinode's photo is like no other because it shows the view through an X-ray telescope.
Mercury's brief trip Wednesday between Earth and the sun treated sky watchers to a celestial event most people get to see less than once a decade. The minuscule planet appeared as a tiny dot passing from left to right across the face of the sun. The five-hour passing, called a transit, was viewable only with specially outfitted telescopes and online telescope cameras.