Fellow astronomers, (or anyone else) spot Mercury while you can!

[Heyo]

Heyo, ya'll...

This is to all my fellow amateur 'stronomers out there.

Mercury is coming to it's maximum elongation over the next few days. This means the time when it is furthest from the sun, as viewed from Earth. Mercury, the Sun, and Earth form a right angle at that time.

So, if you have a clear view of the low western sky in the hour or so IMMEDIATELY after sunset, you can see it.

It is currently shining at about a magnitude -1.5, which makes it the second brightest object in the sky while it is visible. (The lower the number the brighter the object)

It follows the sun down over the horizon just south of due west pretty quickly, but if you look outside right before it gets dark as the sunlight that normally drowns out the planet fades to darkness, you can catch a glimpse of this elusive object. Add it to your collection of experiences... your list of things you can tell people you've seen. ;-)

It is very low on the horizon and descends quickly, so you'll need to find a spot where there aren't any trees or buildings to the west blocking your view of the horizon. It will only be about 15 to 20 degrees above the horizon.

What will you see? Well, nothing all that spectacular. A bright dot in the sky. If you have a telescope or a decent pair of binoculars, you can see that it has phases, and will be about 50% in phase. (Like the moon's phases, you will see that only half of it is lit up, the other half dark.)

It's not all that spectacular for some non-astronomy types who aren't interested, but part of the thrill is just knowing that you've seen Mercury, and not many people do, knowing that that is a planet and not a star, and learning to start identifying celestial object as what they really are and what they really mean, and how they move, as opposed to just "dots in the sky" at night.

Yes, that "star" really is a planet. And also, the bright yellowish star that is roughly directly overhead at about 9pm EST is also a planet, Saturn, and you can make out the rings and some of the larger moons with a modest telescope.

Also of note this month, rising in the east a few hours after sunset is another bright "star" which is actually Jupiter. Jupiter and Saturn burn pretty brightly and so you should be able to pick them out easily, as they are brighter than most stars.

It is fun to follow their progress through the sky and against the background stars night after night. It helps you get your "celestial bearings" (your sense of your physical placement in the solar system and the physical placement of other objects therein) and it's a neat feeling, 'specially for an avid wannabe 'stronomer such as myself.

A decent 5-inch telescope or larger will make out Jupiter's moons as well as the banded cloud features and the great red spot.

Catch mercury while you can, by the end of the month it will be gone and won't be back until early mornings in the summer.

A couple quick facts about Mercury: It's the closest planet to the sun as you probably already know. It also has the highest temperature variation from night to day. About 700 degrees F during the day, and -300 at night. Mostly this is due to it having no atmosphere.

Also, Mercury has a highly elliptical orbit which takes 88 Earth-days, it's rotation period is about 58.5 days. The combination of these 2 conditions means that sometimes it's orbit around the sun is slower than it's rotation on it's axis, but other times it's orbit is faster. What this means is, if you were standing on Mercury watching a day go by (if you could keep from melting) you would see the sun rise and begin to go across the sky. It would then stop, reverse direction and go back the other way for a bit, and then it would stop again, reverse direction again, and set normally. Neat stuff, huh? Or maybe I'm just a dork. :shrug:

Anyway, it's an elusive little critter, a tough one to see, and this makes it a notch in the belt that is a MUST for any 'stronomy buff such as I.

Happy viewing everyone.

:dunce:

Heyo

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

1. cool

i'll watch for it-i've seen all the visible planets except it- and caught uranus once on one of the ultra rare occasions it's visible to the naked eye

[Heyo]

2. Sweet...

Uranus is pretty elusive, and very dim. I have never seen it or Neptune, but I am going to keep trying to see if I can make out the slight green tint of Uranus with my telescope.

(there's a joke there somewhere)

Uranus and Neptune both shine at mag. +8 or over, so they are pretty dim and hard to see. Kicks ass that you saw either of those 2.

:headbang:

Heyo

[Sympleesmshn]

4. I have seen them all

I caught the one time, maybe 5-10 years ago, when you could see all the visible planets in the sky, and got to see them from a plane on the way back from Minnesota...

[xmas74]

3. I'll be there.

I'm the big ol geek who belongs to the local astronomy club.

[mourningdove92]

5. Thanks!

[Gloria]

6. I'll try! I saw Saturn's rings for the first time with the homemade

Dobsonian telescope I made a couple of summers ago. And, a couple of weeks ago, the Astronomical Society here had Dobson himself visiting and I got his autograph on my scope!

He travels around a lot, all over the world. He's very old and has long hair and is a pretty cool character.

[Thor_MN]

7. "If you have a telescope or a decent pair of binoculars"

Now I know that most people aren't that stupid, but someone might get antsy and start looking BEFORE the sun passes below the horizon. The instant gratification crowd might find this one a bit costly...

[Heyo]

9. Good point....

..smart to bring that up.

Allow me to reiterate what Thor_MN said.

Do not look at, or in the direction of, the sun. Not with the naked eye or any type of viewing device unless it has an appropriate solar filter which can be purchased where telescopes and such are sold. (On a side note, there is a partial solar eclipse on April 8th, this especially applies then, too)

While the sun is still above the horizon, it will be too bright to see Mercury anyway. Wait until the sun dips below the horizon before you commence with your stargazing/planet-watching.

:dunce:

Heyo

[Imalittleteapot]

8. I'm hoping that your post ,

which I just forwarded to my husband's office, will inspire him to take out the telescope that I bought him for Christmas 2003 and give it a try. Thanks.

[Heyo]

10. Cool. I hope so as well.

As a beginner, you may want to encourage him to try out Saturn as well. For a couple reasons.

One is, it is easier to spot than Mercury. (but check out Mercury, too)

Two: Once you point a telescope at a small "star" in the sky, peep your eyeball in there and see a planet with rings around it and everything, just like in pictures, I guarantee the telescope will be out several nights a week.

Three: Right about now is a fantastic time to view Saturn. It is well placed in the sky now and for the next few weeks.

A telescope is such a wonderful gift, and he is lucky that you got him one.

That happens sometimes with telescopes, in the closet they go and the dust collects. But once you get bit by the bug, then it becomes something to really look forward to. A nice cup of coffee or cocoa on a cool night, and the excitement of spotting a new object you haven't been able to see before. (still working on Andromeda myself)

Viewing Saturn is a great way to get bit by the bug.

Depending on what time zone you are in, it is directly overhead around the 9-10 pm range here on the East coast. Look up, and you'll see several stars, and it is one particularly bright one that has a bit of a yellow tint.

Even a smaller telescope can make out the rings. Mine is 5-inches wide and I can see the Cassini Division. (the gap between the 2 sets of rings)

I hope that he gets the telescope out and uses it. It's good for the soul.

For beginners, the hardest thing is "sighting" the scope. (getting what you want to look at into the field of view) If you need any advice on that, let me know.

:-)

Heyo