Posts Tagged ‘Mercury’
Sky Tonight—December 29, Moon and Venus before dawn
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org If you look in the eastern predawn sky in the coming mornings, you will find the moon and planet Venus close together. They will be a beautiful sight tomorrow morning, shining nearly side by side. Venus is easy. It is the brightest object there other than the sun and moon. However, Mercury –the most elusive planet – is also up before dawn, closer to the horizon. Now here is a challenge. Did you see Mercury ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Young moon and Mercury after sunset
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org Can you find the slim waxing crescent moon and planet Mercury after sunset this evening? It will be a major sky-watching challenge. Binoculars can help you search, although both worlds are actually visible to the unaided eye in a clear sky shortly after sunset. To see the planets, find a level horizon in the direction of sunset. The moon and Mercury will pop out close to the southwest horizon some 35 to 60 minutes ... Full Story
EarthSky Tonight—Nov 29, catch Mercury after sunset
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science Visit EarthSky at www.EarthSky.org You might be able to find the most elusive planet – Mercury – low in the southwest sky at evening dusk for this entire next week. This is the best evening apparition of this planet until March 2011. Even so, you will need an unobstructed southwest horizon and a clear sky – and possibly binoculars – to catch Mercury after the sun goes down. Mercury is hard to spot, not because it is dim, but because it so ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—August 7, Venus, Mars, Saturn form
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Around August 7 and 8, look in the west after sunset for the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn as they form what is known as a planetary trio. Around August 7 and 8, look in the west after sunset for the planets Venus, Mars and Saturn as they form what is known as a planetary trio. A planetary trio is a grouping of three planets that fits inside a circle that is only 5 degrees wide. Typically, a binocular field spans about 5 degrees, ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—August 6, Mercury challenging, but
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system, is not often visible in our sky because it is always near the sun. When this inner world does become visible, it appears but briefly in the evening after sunset – or in the morning before sunrise. At present Mercury shines as an evening “star.” Today, Mercury reaches its greatest elongation for the entire year: 27 degrees east of the sun. (Your fist at an arm length ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 27, Saturn, Mars, Venus –
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The planets Saturn, Mars and Venus are still in the west after sunset, to the delight of stargazers across the globe. In addition, the planet Mercury –our solar system’s innermost world – teams up with Regulus around now in the same part of the sky. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo the Lion. Tonight, Mercury and Regulus form the year’s closest pairing of a planet with a first-magnitude star. Look for ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—Moon close to Mars. Venus, Mercury,
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Have you been watching the string of planets adorning the July evening sky after sunset? If so, you might have noticed that the order of the planets from up to down – Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury – has remained steady throughout the month. However, the moon’s position relative to the planetary line-up has been changing, with the moon now climbing this stairway of planets day by day by day by day! Yesterday evening, the ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—July 9, 2010: Venus and Regulus in
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org The dazzling planet Venus and the star Regulus are in conjunction at 9 p.m. Central Daylight Time this evening. That means they are north and south of one another on the sky’s dome, with a small gap separating the two. This evening, Venus and Regulus shine about the same distance apart as the width of your little finger, held at arm’s length. Although Regulus is a very bright star, it pales next to Venus, which is the ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight—- May 25: Mercury at greatest
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Mercury, the solar system’s innermost planet, reaches its greatest morning elongation from the sun tomorrow (Wednesday, May 26). The term greatest elongation specifically applies to inferior planets – the planets that orbit the sun inside of Earth’s orbit: Mercury and Venus. As seen from Earth, Mercury – like a dog on a leash – never strays far from the sun. Mercury only becomes visible in the morning sky when it is ... Full Story
Earthsky Tonight – April 15: Catch the moon and
Courtesy of EarthSky A Clear Voice for Science www.EarthSky.org Did you see the planet Mercury adorning the evening twilight earlier this month? On our April 8 program, for instance, we showed you Mercury next to the blazing planet Venus at dusk and early evening. Be forewarned. Mercury will be much harder to find this evening than it was at that time. Mercury will be several to many times fainter than it was in late March and early April. Moreover, Mercury will set about 45 minutes earlier ... Full Story
