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Author
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Topic: Viewing the planet Mercury
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DavidH
Member Posts: 1217
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted 03-04-2005 09:57 AM
   
For those who are into this sort of thing, now is apparently a great time to see Mercury.------------------
http://allthese worlds.hatbag.net/space.php
"America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow." - Commander Eugene Cernan, Apollo 17 Mission, 11 December 1972 |
spaceuk
Member Posts: 2113
From: Staffs, UK
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 03-05-2005 08:06 AM
Mustn't forget Messenger on its way there too... |
AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 04-17-2010 04:15 PM
Reviving this thread from 2005, I was reading my copy of this month's 'Sky at Night' magazine where I noticed that over the past couple of weeks there were a few excellent opportunities to spot the planet Mercury.I had never seen Mercury before, and wanted to join the 1% of people who have actually seen it. And on Thursday night I got lucky. My Dad and I managed to spot the little reddish-orange flicker of the planet Mercury with a pair of binoculars tucked in between a very bright Venus and a 1% sliver of the Moon - a fantastic sight I must say! Do you guys still remember the very first time you caught a glimpse of the elusive planet Mercury? |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 04-17-2010 04:56 PM
I can't help wondering whether some people who thought they were looking at Mercury were actually seeing Venus, which was almost directly below the crescent Moon last night, and was very bright. Although I looked for Mercury, I couldn't see it at all from my location, possibly because the horizon wasn't clear, but more likely because it wasn't bright enough to shine through the haze above the horizon.I did see Mercury several times in the early 1970s, and once in the late 1980s, but haven't knowingly seen it since. But it's good to be one of the "one percent." |
AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 04-17-2010 05:02 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Blackarrow:
I can't help wondering whether some people who thought they were looking at Mercury were actually seeing Venus,
When I saw it on Thursday evening, Mercury was just above and to the left of the tiny crescent moon, and Venus was to the left again and quite a bit further up in the horizon so I myself was definitely seeing Mercury, but I can see how people would think they were seeing Mercury when looking at Venus.No matter how hard I tried though I couldn't see Mercury with my naked eye even though I knew where it was - the binoculars did it for me in the end!  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-17-2010 05:46 PM
Mercury was almost too obvious to miss during the nights leading up to the STS-131 launch in Florida. It appeared bright in the early evening sky, just below Venus.Space.com's Joe Rao also provided viewing tips at the time. I'm guessing that the evening of April 15 will probably be the last chance for most people to get a glimpse of Mercury. Half an hour after sunset, concentrate about 10-degrees (about "one-fist") above the west-northwest horizon. Binoculars will be a big help. First, scan for a hairline crescent moon, only about 36-hours past new phase. About 1-degree below and to the left of the moon will be Mercury, having faded to magnitude +1.5.By the next night, Mercury will have vanished into the sunset fires and the dance will have ended. | |
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