Now it’s time to try to catch the fleeting planet Mercury in the morning sky.
When Mercury is at its greatest eastern extension, its apparent distance from the Sun is greatest. The planet’s movement through the sky is captured in this 2023 composite image, with one frame taken on each clear day. Credit: Tuncay Tezel
This week, Astronomy magazine editor emeritus Dave Eichner invites you to look at Mercury, which will be at its greatest expansion on April 3. This is when the planet appears farthest from the Sun in the morning sky, making it easier to see. May you be successful!
Video Transcript:
Welcome to this week in astronomy, brought to you by Celestron, the world’s leading manufacturer of telescopes. I’m Dave Eichner, editor emeritus of Astronomy magazine.
You know, I have a question for you this week: Have you ever looked at the planet Mercury in your Celestron telescope or binoculars? Apart from Pluto, Mercury is the least visited planet, and it can be very cool to see – frankly, a kind of spectacular feat for hobbyists, although it never gets very far from the Sun in our sky, so it’s a bit challenging.
However, a good opportunity to see Mercury comes in early April as the tiny planet reaches its so-called greatest eastern extension from the Sun. So, you can go out into the early morning sky on April 3, or thereabouts – you know, around that day – and get a shot of seeing the innermost planet.
Of course, you’ll need a clear, low horizon to the east, and to get a good view at 5:30 a.m. local time, depending on where you are, the planet is a few degrees above the horizon. By the way, Mars will rise a little later, even closer to the Sun in the sky.
At this time Mercury shines at magnitude 0.4, and you will see the slight yellow color that Mercury shows in the eyepiece. If you look at Mercury, you’ll join a relatively small group of astronomy enthusiasts who have seen our planetary neighbor, the closest one to the Sun.
So, good luck hunting Mercury. I wish you well and see you next time.
