How to watch Planet Mercury pass in front of the sun in rare event

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11) - A rare celestial event will take place on Monday, May 9, and NASA is offering everyone a front seat to the action.

Mercury will pass between Earth and the sun on Monday morning, something that only happens about 13 times every 100 years. The last trek happened in 2006.

You must use a telescope or high-powered binoculars to view the rare event, but NASA is offering several ways for anyone to view it without buying expensive equipment.

NOTE: Do not star directly at the sun with the naked eye when trying to view Mercury.

You can view the event live locally by logging in to the Griffith Observatory official website.

NASA will post images in near real time at http://www.nasa.gov/transit and the agency will also stream a live program on NASA TV and its Facebook page from 7:30-8:30 a.m. PT. Viewers can ask questions using #AskNASA on Facebook and Twitter.

You can find more information on NASA's website.