Mercury Feb 2013

[tom714uk]

I've wanted to see Mercury since starting astronomy 18 months ago and was finally rewarded in the last few days. I'd read all the warnings about it being very rare for it to be visible and very low down when it was. However, various sources had alerted me to the opportunity this month and I was determined to make the most of it.

I had a quick go through trees and a bit of cloud from an upstairs window about a week ago, holding binoculars in one hand and a wriggling baby in the other, but had no luck. The 16th was supposed to be the best evening for it but unfortunately was also the first day of my holiday at Center Parcs - I knew that being surrounded by very tall trees wasn't going to be the best way to maximise my chances, so kept an eye on the sky the previous day instead. This time, scanning around through the same window equipped with the same baby/binoculars combination at about 5.45-6pm, I was delighted to see a point of light just above the treetops! Once I'd located it it was clearly visible with the naked eye. Some pleading with the wife (it was the middle of bedtime for two children) got me a few minutes to get the telescope out.

My garden and drive had nowhere suitable but I discovered that the middle of the (quiet) road round the corner had an excellent W horizon! So, presenting only a minor hazard to traffic, I got a fix (giving a curious passer-by her first view of the moon in the process) and viewed the planet at 200x. It was (as expected) very indistinct due to the low altitude, and there was also a lot of CA present, but it was clearly a blob rather than a point. I didn't notice a phase in particular (it has to be said I forgot to look for one) but the colour was distinctly light brown-grey. There were hints of darker and brighter patches but the image was too unstable to make anything out clearly.

The best view was with the naked eye, however - a beautifully coloured and totally clear sky shading from relative brightness at the horizon to deep blue overhead containing a young moon and this subtle pinprick of light. Somehow it gives a greater impression of our place in the solar system than a view of the planets at night. I think Mercury might be my favourite planet after that view - particularly as seeing it implies a clear sky almost to the horizon, which is a very pretty sight.

The 16th was cloudy in the end, trees or no trees, so I was very glad to have got in there early. However, the next night (still at Center Parcs) it was once again clear, and I realised that there was a great W horizon over a lake. So I persuaded my wife and a friend to come out and have a look, which I think they appreciated! Jupiter was also clearly visible from where we were standing so it was an even better show.

Big thumbs up from me for Mercury!

Tom

[Special K]

Sounds great , Tom, I'm eager to have a try at Mercury too. I've got a balcony which is south facing so get some elevation but there is a bank of trees 100 yds away that makes it tricky. Just need the right conditions and I'm there! Thanks for sharing that. Clear skies!

[cotterless45]

Neat, saw Mercury last year out of the bedroom window on the 25 th of February. There was an incredible line up of Mercury,Uranus,Venus and Jupiter alongside a gibbous Moon,

Nick.

[bish]

I get a real buzz from seeing Mercury. Never pointed my scope at it, just like to find it in my bins.

[andrew63]

It's always nice to see something for the first time - especially another world! I saw Mercury before dawn a few months back, close to Venus - from the bedroom window, which appears to be a popular spot for observing it !

andrew

[Mark at Beaufort]

Well done Tom its great to add Mercury to the list. We were fortunate a few years back to see Mercury at one of the SGL star parties so it was seen by a large number of astronomers with various pieces of kit. To view this difficult planet is something you will never forget.

Mark

[Planetesimal]

Nice one Tom!

I read somewhere that Mercury should be visible in mid-Feb, but by this point in the month it was the 18th so there was no time to lose... I found it from my back garden between the neighbour's shed roof and a leafless tree, but it was too low for the scope to peer over the fence so I had to make do with a naked-eye only view that night.

The next evening I made sure to leave work a little early to get home on time; I set up the scope in advance and trained it on the general area... About 30 minutes after sunset it materialised out of the dusk, suspended between electricity cables. Magnifying up to 125X, I could clearly see it was in "half moon" phase, albeit shrouded in a shimmering haze of CA. Great fun to look at though... I followed it for the next half hour until it was too low to see any more.

Looks like I've missed Mars for now, but bagging Mercury is a real joy - not very many people have ever seen it!

[Paul M]

I agree that there is something about Mercury!

When I was a boy I tried to find it on many, many occasions. I had easy access to an excellent western horizon over the Irish Sea but was unlucky time after time.

Then one day while Mercury was at maximum elongation I spotted it from our back yard and even got my 60mm refractor on it

Thereafter it seemed to be an almost easy subject! I think there is a certain amount of brain training needed to be able to distinguish even fairly bright object in a twilit sky??

The last time I saw it I wasn't even looking. Venus was putting on a spectacular evening show ( last year or the year before) and whilst pointing it out to the MD I spotted what I though might well be mercury. On checking Stellarium it turned out I was correct.

Just Neptune and Pluto to go. Can't believe I've never bagged Neptune....

[Selborne]

Great Story, Mercury is one of those must see objects, a little disappointing once viewed, but satisfaction guaranteed !