Mercury on view

[nytecam]

Spied elusive Mercury low in WSW beneath the crescent moon at dusk tonight as my pic below from landing window. Mercury will be around for a week or so so grab a look - binos will help pick it up:cool:

[David Smith]

That's a good catch. Hoping to see Mercury myself over the next couple of weeks. Have seen it a few times before but the most recent was a number of years ago now. Time to get re-acquainted I think.

[m_j_lyons]

Saw elusive Mercury this evening with two of my boys...they thought it interesting that you could see 4 planets (terra firma inclusive) just after sunset.

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[65Cap]

I saw Mercury on Friday evening (24 Feb), at about 6:10pm. I suspect I was lucky to catch a view of the planet, as there were some thin bands of cloud low on the western horizon that intermittently obscured the view. I had to use an 8x56 binocular to detect Mercury initially, but after pinpointing its location I was able to see it for a few minutes with the unaided eye. It's a real delight to be able to see Mercury, especially with the beautiful crescent Moon, Venus and Jupiter on display too.

nytecam - that's a superbly clear image capturing the crescent Moon and Mercury low on the horizon. The colour changes, from the subtle peach glow on the horizon, up through the ever deepening blues, where the brilliant white crescent is nestling, makes for such a memorable scene.

The view on Friday evening was really stunning, particularly enhanced by the presence of earth-shine on the Moon. I sat in the garden, quietly taking in the subtle changes as twilight deepened. There are so many wonderful things to see in the night sky, but these occasions, when the early evening sky is clear and you can sit and watch this beautiful celestial show unfold, are amongst the best. I think that what makes this so special is that the only equipment required to appreciate it is your own eyes.

I took a picture of Jupiter, Venus and the crescent, which doesn't do the scene justice, but does serve as a reminder to me of one of those rare evenings.

Jeff.

[cotterless45]

Just looking out for Mercury last night when we had a full pass of the ISS at 6.50pm. The ISS rose in the west , paralell to the ecliptic, above the Moon, Venus and Jupiter, nice.

[David Smith]

these occasions, when the early evening sky is clear and you can sit and watch this beautiful celestial show unfold, are amongst the best. I think that what makes this so special is that the only equipment required to appreciate it is your own eyes.

Jeff.

I'd second that Jeff. Some of my favourite obs sessions have been when the sun was either rising or setting.

[David Smith]

Managed to just catch Mercury this evening. I thought I had lost it as the clouds came in as soon as the sun went down but persevered and managed to catch it very low to the horizon in a gap in the cloud.

[nytecam]

Thanks all for your interest - another Merc pic from last night below

I'd second that Jeff. Some of my favourite obs sessions have been when the sun was either rising or setting.

I'd wholly agree with that - magical times of day:hello2:

[65Cap]

Mercury is showing very clearly in your latest image, nytecam. Wonderful to see these images of the elusive planet.

The skies cleared over the Midlands this evening. I was able to see Mercury, initially with a binocular, at around 6:10pm, and then with the unaided eye a little bit later. I observed Mercury until 7:00pm, when I was starting to lose sight of the planet by then. I did try and capture the scene with a digital camera, but you have to look very closely to detect Mercury, shown in the white square box in my image below. I've set it to go to a higher resolution version if you click on the image, but it may take a while to load.

Jupiter and Venus were real beacons in the sky tonight too. I had a bit of time to nip out and spot Venus well before sunset. It never ceases to amaze me how bright it appears in the daytime sky, such a brilliant diamond white point of light. How beautiful to watch.

Jeff.