Facebook Instagram Twitter RSS Feed PodBean Back to top on side

News

Mercury surface

Mercury is in the best evening position for observation in this year

21. 5. 2020 | 1872 visits

Mercury is the smallest planet of the Solar system, and of all planets, it orbits closest to the Sun. During its orbiting, it is clear enough to be visible with the naked eye.

“Despite it, most of the people have never seen it. There is a legend according to which not even Nicolaus Copernicus ever saw this planet. The reason is that, as an inner planet (to Earth), it will never angularly move away more than 28 degrees from the Sun. So, even after the sunset or before the sunrise it is always in the dusk on the overshined sky,” Ján Svoreň of the Astronomical Institute SAS describes the planet.

In the last decade of May, however, there will be the best conditions for observation of this planet.

“Mercury will reach the brightness of the brightest stars (zero magnitude) and will sink up until 2 hours after the sunset. They are the best evening conditions for observation in 2020. And additionally, it will be easy to find in the sky, since on May 22, after the sunset, Mercury will be only 1.2 degrees on the left from the bright Venus, and on May 24, a narrow sickle moon will be in the vicinity, only a few days after the new moon,” added the astronomer.

(mon)

Photo: AI SAS  

Related articles