For the Northern Hemisphere, the planet Mercury is now just starting its best evening apparition of 2015. It’ll be visible for the first half of May – maybe the first three weeks. Have binoculars? If so, take a look at the Pleiades star cluster coupling up with Mercury within the same binocular field of view. Look westward – toward the sunset point – starting about half an hour after sunset. At mid-northern latitudes, Mercury sets a whopping 110 minutes after the sun.
Here’s how to locate Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system. Find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset. The first two “stars” to pop out at evening dusk will be the planet Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, and then Jupiter, the sky’s second-brightest planet.
Draw an imaginary line from Jupiter through Venus down toward the sunset point. Mercury will be there, fairly close to the horizon as dusk ebbs into nighttime.
Draw an imaginary line from Jupiter and past Venus to locate Mercury. The planets are always found near the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected onto the constellations of the Zodiac.
In the Northern Hemisphere, you can probably follow Mercury with the eye alone for about 60 to 75 minutes after sunset. When it gets low in the sky, use binoculars to zoom in on Mercury and to glance at the nearby Pleiades star cluster.
It’ll be harder to view Mercury from the Southern Hemisphere, but give it a try anyway.
Rising and setting of the planets (major cities) Calculator
After Mercury sets at nightfall or early evening, and Venus sinks closer to the horizon, look in the opposite direction for the star Spica near the bright waxing gibbous moon. Then at early-to-mid evening, watch for the planet Saturn to climb over the southeast horizon. The moon will pair up with Saturn on May 4 and 5.
Look for the moon and the star Spica in the southeast as darkness falls. After the moon drops out of the evening sky, starting at the end of the first week of May 2015, star-hop to Spica from the constellation Corvus the Crow. The green line depicts the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected onto the dome of sky
Bottom line: Mercury has several weeks to go in its best evening apparition of 2015, for Northern Hemisphere observers. If all goes well, you’ll not only catch Mercury near the Pleiades at nightfall on May 1 (use binoculars for the Pleiades), but you’ll also see four planets by early-to-mid evening: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1I1o4KL
For the Northern Hemisphere, the planet Mercury is now just starting its best evening apparition of 2015. It’ll be visible for the first half of May – maybe the first three weeks. Have binoculars? If so, take a look at the Pleiades star cluster coupling up with Mercury within the same binocular field of view. Look westward – toward the sunset point – starting about half an hour after sunset. At mid-northern latitudes, Mercury sets a whopping 110 minutes after the sun.
Here’s how to locate Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system. Find an unobstructed horizon in the direction of sunset. The first two “stars” to pop out at evening dusk will be the planet Venus, the sky’s brightest planet, and then Jupiter, the sky’s second-brightest planet.
Draw an imaginary line from Jupiter through Venus down toward the sunset point. Mercury will be there, fairly close to the horizon as dusk ebbs into nighttime.
Draw an imaginary line from Jupiter and past Venus to locate Mercury. The planets are always found near the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected onto the constellations of the Zodiac.
In the Northern Hemisphere, you can probably follow Mercury with the eye alone for about 60 to 75 minutes after sunset. When it gets low in the sky, use binoculars to zoom in on Mercury and to glance at the nearby Pleiades star cluster.
It’ll be harder to view Mercury from the Southern Hemisphere, but give it a try anyway.
Rising and setting of the planets (major cities) Calculator
After Mercury sets at nightfall or early evening, and Venus sinks closer to the horizon, look in the opposite direction for the star Spica near the bright waxing gibbous moon. Then at early-to-mid evening, watch for the planet Saturn to climb over the southeast horizon. The moon will pair up with Saturn on May 4 and 5.
Look for the moon and the star Spica in the southeast as darkness falls. After the moon drops out of the evening sky, starting at the end of the first week of May 2015, star-hop to Spica from the constellation Corvus the Crow. The green line depicts the ecliptic – Earth’s orbital plane projected onto the dome of sky
Bottom line: Mercury has several weeks to go in its best evening apparition of 2015, for Northern Hemisphere observers. If all goes well, you’ll not only catch Mercury near the Pleiades at nightfall on May 1 (use binoculars for the Pleiades), but you’ll also see four planets by early-to-mid evening: Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1I1o4KL
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