STAR GAZERS gathered to watch a “rare” sighting of a planet passing between the Earth and the Sun.

Members of the Astronomical Society of Haringey set up telescopes near their office in Southgate, on Monday afternoon, to capture the transit of Mercury, which is the smallest planet in the Solar System.

The journey usually occurs no more than 13 times in a century and people had the opportunity to look directly at the sun using glasses designed to offer a safe view.

Mercury was not visible to the naked eye, so a telescope was used to project a larger image of the transit onto a piece of card, where it could clearly be seen.

Kyri Voskou, the treasurer of the society, said: “Watching this tiny dot moving across the face of the sun, with my own eyes, was amazing.

“Reading about what is “up there”, or watching it on TV, is nothing like actually seeing it.”

Mat Irvine, editor of the group, said: “The day started and ended cloudy, but was thankfully clear for most of the afternoon, so we had a very good view of much of the transit.”

The next transit of Mercury across the Sun is predicted in 2019.