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I've a confession!

DaveGibbons

By DaveGibbons
in The Astro Lounge

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DaveGibbons

DaveGibbons

Posted
Posted

Just been looking at Geppetto's (Philips) really nice image of Venus and Mercury and you know what, I've never seen Mercury with my own eyes. 35 Years of stargazing and I've never really looked. Probably because I've never lived in a house with a low South/Southwest view. :rolleyes: Sad really but there you are!

Dave

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lunator

lunator

Posted
Posted

I've only sen Mercury 3 times.

Once when Venus & Mercury were high last time. They were almost due west that time and I have seen Mercury twice this year.

Each time Mercury has only just cleared the roof tops of the house behind mine.

Mercury is easy to find at the mo.

My Son (8) & Daughter (5) have spotted it easily.

Cheers

Ian

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barkis

barkis

Posted
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Well Dave, if you wait until May 2016 it will be easier, as it will transit the Sun. :rolleyes:

The only thing is, I don't know if you will see it from the UK. Somebody else in the forum will supply that info.

Barkis. :wink:

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Tinkerbell

Tinkerbell

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Well Dave, if you wait until May 2016 it will be easier, as it will transit the Sun.

The only thing is, I don't know if you will see it from the UK.

Well just checked and up here at 55 degrees the event will start at 11:12 and finish at 18:40 on the 9/5/2016 :shock:

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maroon bells

maroon bells

Posted
Posted

You can see it very easily at the moment. It's just below Venus and easily visible, it's a tiny point of light but it's still fairly bright at the moment. It's magnitude is now on the wane.

The past week is the first time I've ever seen it with the naked eye and I must say that I'm amazed it gets so far away from the sun, I'd always imagined it orbited far closer.

I'd like to get get my scope on it but it's just not possible from where I live and I imagine you probably wouldn't see much anyway, a bit like Uranus.

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DaveGibbons

DaveGibbons

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I've seen it! It was actually higher in the evening sky than I thought it would be . Venus was a great marker and the visual magnitude difference makes Mercury look like a bright pinprick. The pair looked beautiful in the evening twighlight last night.

Cheers

Dave

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Astroman

Astroman

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The past week is the first time I've ever seen it with the naked eye and I must say that I'm amazed it gets so far away from the sun, I'd always imagined it orbited far closer.

I'd like to get get my scope on it but it's just not possible from where I live and I imagine you probably wouldn't see much anyway, a bit like Uranus.

For the first point, Mecury orbits ~50 million km from the Sun, while the Sun is nearly 1.5 million km across, subtending ~30' or about 1/2 degree. From there we get a maximum separation of only about 15º, which isn't much. Now, since Mercury's year is only about 80 days, figure only half will be far enough away to actually observe, that's 40 days on either side. Throw in the difference in our orbital angles and sometimes Mercury is less than 5º from the Sun, even at maximum elongation, (which should be the easiest time to see it). All in all, you only have maybe 3 or 4 opportunities to see Mercury in the course of a year! That's why it's such a difficult target.

For the second point, I disagree there's nothing much to see. True, you won't see surface details, but you can see phases and how bright it is. Plus, it's a tough target, so I try never to miss a chance to see this, now, smallest planet!

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