Bagged Mercury at last! :-)

[hgjevans]

It's getting on for forty years since I first looked at the night sky through a telescope, and yet I had never knowingly seen Mercury.  Admittedly there has been a massive gap in that time when I wasn't seriously observing at all, but nevertheless I'd managed all the others. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Venus were all easy enough for me back then, even with the cheap and cheerful 40x40 refracter I had then. Uranus and Neptune I found in more recent years when I started up again, with the 30x60 spotting scope I use for wildlife. But Mercury had always eluded me - never in the right place at the right time, with a decent clear horizon and a decently clear sky.

But half an hour or so ago I finally laid that one to rest. After a few minutes watching Venus with the 8x42 bins, waiting for the sky to darken enough, there it was - much, much fainter, of course, and no more than a point in the binoculars, but unmistakably there. I'm not normally one for box-ticking, but boy it feels good to finally nail that one. :-) 

[stevend]

Same here, bagged Mercury at last and then saw Venus and Mars. The skies are so good tonight. With the weather forecast I am planning an 'all planets in one night'. The tricky one will be Saturn as it does not come into my viewing area until 0700. Plus I cannot wait to see Lovejoy in the scope for the first time.

[andrew63]

Mercury can be very elusive -  glad you managed to catch it.  

andrew

[Grotemobile]

Not seen that one yet.Have to keep a

lookout in the morning for that planet.

Well done.

[lonick]

Was looking at the sky all day at work to see if this was going to be a go'er. Unfortunately the sky in Edinburgh is not playing ball.

[cuivenion]

Pretty sure I saw it as a kid, but I can't really remember now. Unfortunately I'm in an urban area and my clearest horizon is the eastern one so I'll have to wait for it to rise from there.

[hgjevans]

Same here, bagged Mercury at last and then saw Venus and Mars. The skies are so good tonight. With the weather forecast I am planning an 'all planets in one night'. The tricky one will be Saturn as it does not come into my viewing area until 0700. Plus I cannot wait to see Lovejoy in the scope for the first time.

Celebrations all round then! :-) Yes, I thought now I've got to try for the lot tonight too - could be the only chance I'll ever get. Unfortunately Clear Outside seems to think it will be cloudy where I am by the time Saturn rises. OTOH, the Met Office forecast reckons I'll have it clear again right about 7am - got to be worth a try.

[stevend]

Celebrations all round then! :-) Yes, I thought now I've got to try for the lot tonight too - could be the only chance I'll ever get. Unfortunately Clear Outside seems to think it will be cloudy where I am by the time Saturn rises. OTOH, the Met Office forecast reckons I'll have it clear again right about 7am - got to be worth a try.

I have the same forecast. I have seen Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune and Uranus. Now having dinner and waiting for Lovejoy to come out from behind an oak tree.

[Paul73]

Likewise.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune and Uranus so far tonight.

I'd never seen a Mercury before so watching it and Venus sinking to the horizon in the same FOV was a sight to remember. High mag that close to the horizon is always going to be a disappointment.

Fingers crossed for the other two!

Paul

[hgjevans]

Well, I fell at the fourth hurdle - couldn't locate Neptune before it swung down down and west behind trees and houses. I'm pretty sure it must have been in my eyepiece, but there were contrails everywhere and the sky was getting lighter by the minute. Then all of a sudden there's this big bright thing over in the east.   Oh well, I got Mercury - that'll have to do for now. Good luck to the rest of you.

[stevend]

Lovejoy and now Jupiter (though a gap in the trees), just Saturn to complete the Planets tomorrow morning.

P.S For a bonus; Juno has just risen will be c15deg below the Moon.

[FenlandPaul]

Excellent - well done! This has eluded me too; I had hoped to get out but I am very busy at work and before I knew it it was well past 6 and the opportunity lost.

You've inspired me to hunt him down though!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[hgjevans]

Well I hope you have clearer skies than me - it looked like it was going to be a fabulous night here, but now the only things bright enough to show through the cloud are the Moon, Sirius, and Jupiter. Amazing how quickly it can change. 

[cotterless45]

Yep, a very promising start, then yeeeeek ! Great cloud banks. Cleared again later to show comet Lovejoy to the bottom right of Orion, hurrah !

Nick.

[stevend]

Saturn looks lovely, worth getting up early for. Really pleased to view all the planets in one night. I will do a report later. Sorry for the slight derailment of the thread but I thought it worth sharing the opportunity.

[Paul M]

I got lucky with Mercury and bagged it early in my career. It was an exceptional elongation in the late 70's. It was a naked eye observation because I had no bins then and couldn't get the 60mm refractor set up in the right spot to use that (my observing spot was on the flat roof of the coal bunker!). 

Uranus was in the 80's and Neptune last year!

Good job they demoted Pluto. It's off the bucket list

[Paul73]

Mercury was a lovely naked eye sight yesterday evening.

I suffer from depression and yesterday was an awful day. An escape was in order so I put my scope in the car and headed up onto the Ridgeway. I could actually feel the weight lifting as I wathed the vivid colours of the sun disappearing and the sky turning form orange, to darkening blues. Venus was bright then Mercury popped into averted, then full, vision. As they sank, Mars apeared and Orion's belt was rising behind me. Mercury, then Venus dropping and brightening briefly as they disappeared below the 0° horizon.

Best therapy ever!!!

The Mercury / Venus twighlight show is well worth catching. The scope is pretty useless in the fading light at these low elevations.

Get up high in the fresh cold air. Enjoy the moment.

Paul

[hgjevans]

Yep, a very promising start, then yeeeeek ! Great cloud banks. Cleared again later to show comet Lovejoy to the bottom right of Orion, hurrah !

Nick.

Yes, same here. It didn't clear for long, but long enough for me find Lovejoy with binoculars and spotting scope. I saw it a few days ago too, but this was a better view, albeit fleeting as the mackeral clouds rolled back in and then closed up completely. I just hope I get a chance with some clear sky when the moon has gone. Saturday evening looks promising. 

[hgjevans]

... my observing spot was on the flat roof of the coal bunker!

[Yorkshire accent] Oh, we used to dream of observing from the roof of a coal bunker! [\Yorkshire accent]

(Sorry - couldn't resist. Getting my coat now.  )

[bish]

Although Jupiter and Saturn give the great detailed views, there's something just as satisfying about seeing Mercury.

[Paul M]

[Yorkshire accent] Oh, we used to dream of observing from the roof of a coal bunker! [\Yorkshire accent]

(Sorry - couldn't resist. Getting my coat now.  )

Ahh, but we were too poor to put coal in it....

[hgjevans]

I suffer from depression and yesterday was an awful day. An escape was in order so I put my scope in the car and headed up onto the Ridgeway. I could actually feel the weight lifting as I wathed the vivid colours of the sun disappearing and the sky turning form orange, to darkening blues. Venus was bright then Mercury popped into averted, then full, vision. As they sank, Mars apeared and Orion's belt was rising behind me. Mercury, then Venus dropping and brightening briefly as they disappeared below the 0° horizon.

Best therapy ever!!!

Yes, I know the feeling. When I lived in rural Dorset a short drive and a walk in the New Forest on bright crisp morning often did it for me. And if I was lucky with the weather I could just step out into my garden of an evening and after a minute or two for my eyes to begin adapting I could make out the Milky Way overhead and be set for some wonderful sights with nothing more than the binoculars. 

[hgjevans]

Ahh, but we were too poor to put coal in it....

But you try telling the youth...  nah, that's probably enough of that! 

[Dave In Vermont]

Oddly enough, it wasn't until about 5 years ago that I, too, finally bagged Mercury. I'm guessing I just never had a good, unobstructed view of the horizon at the right times of dawn and dusk. But I was quite elated once I finally did catch hold of that fleet-winged, brick-coloured little scamp! Sailing down into the arms of the Adirondack Mountains of New York state over the deep, blue waters of Lake Champlain and it's Lake Monster - Champ:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champ_%28cryptozoology%29

Clear Skies & Sea-Monsters, too,

Dave

[hgjevans]

That sounds like a really special 'wow' moment Dave- one to savour. And I'm beginning to realise I wasn't that unusual in taking years to spot it. A northern hemisphere thing, I guess.