Friday, October 17, 2008

Mercury revealed

Of the five bright planets, Mercury is the most elusive because it never strays far from the sun When it can be seen, it is found in the bright twilight, either before sunrise or after sunset. For the next ten mornings, this little world rises high enough by 6:45 a.m. that it can be easily seen — if the sky is clear and the horizon is unobstructed. Look directly east for a starlike object above the horizon — that's Mercury. To its left, in the east northeast, shines the star Arcturus. About an equal distance away from Mercury, but above it, lies Saturn.

Follow Mercury over the next 10 mornings and you'll quickly notice that it does move with respect to the background stars. It should because it takes only 90 days to make one complete revolution around the sun.

Such is our view from Earth ...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It was plainly visible this morning about 6:40.
Thanks!