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Elusive Mercury
Hi all,
Finding Mercury with the naked eye is a challenge which can be assisted by knowing exactly where to look and when to search for it in the sky. Over Easter time is a good time for us in the UK. The following times are for Sheffield South Yorkshire, other places should make adjustments to these times for sunset time. The Sun sets at 19 40 BST at 280 degrees from the North (measured clockwise). So it is 10 degrees further towards north than due west. So watch for a clear view of the western horizon for where the Sun sets (take care not to stare at the Sun for long as you will cause pain and possible eye damage). 1 hour later Venus and Mercury lie about 7 degrees above this point. The Sun is now 8 degrees below the horizon and the sky should be dark enough to find Venus quite easily. Once you have found Venus Mercury is 3 degrees to the right of Venus. If you extend your palm at arms length with your fingers closed your 4 fingers will span about 7 degrees. So small finger on horizon and top finger will show height of both planets above horizon. Venus is much brighter than Mercury but if you look in the correct place you will find it. If you still cannot find Mercury use binoculars to locate Venus and place Venus at the left hand side of the field and Mercury should be visible close to the right hand side of the field of view. Do not use binoculars until the Sun has been set for at least 30 minutes. The relative positions of Venus and Mercury are fairly constant over the following 7 days so there is a band of observing availability to catch sight of Mercury, however Mercury starts to fade in brightness so the earlier you start to catch it over Easter the easier it will be. If you fail at least you can watch Venus start to come into view earlier as the year progresses by watching where it appears higher each night 1 hour after sunset each night. |
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Elusive Mercury
In uk.sci.astronomy message , Mon, 29
Mar 2010 13:03:09, CJ posted: Finding Mercury with the naked eye is a challenge which can be assisted by knowing exactly where to look and when to search for it in the sky. Over Easter time is a good time for us in the UK. Not if one believes the UK weather forecast at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html. http://www.heavens-above.com/skychar...53&lng=-1&loc= Home&alt=100000&tz=GMT may help, if fed with appropriate Alt Lat Long date time. Leaving blank lines between paragraphs aids legibility. -- (c) John Stockton, nr London, UK. Turnpike v6.05 MIME. Web URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/ - FAQqish topics, acronyms & links; Astro stuff via astron-1.htm, gravity0.htm ; quotings.htm, pascal.htm, etc. No Encoding. Quotes before replies. Snip well. Write clearly. Don't Mail News. |
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Elusive Mercury
"Dr J R Stockton" wrote in message nvalid... In uk.sci.astronomy message , Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:03:09, CJ posted: Finding Mercury with the naked eye is a challenge which can be assisted by knowing exactly where to look and when to search for it in the sky. Over Easter time is a good time for us in the UK. Not if one believes the UK weather forecast at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html. http://www.heavens-above.com/skychar...53&lng=-1&loc= Home&alt=100000&tz=GMT may help, if fed with appropriate Alt Lat Long date time. Leaving blank lines between paragraphs aids legibility. -- (c) John Stockton, nr London, UK. Turnpike v6.05 MIME. Web URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/ - FAQqish topics, acronyms & links; Astro stuff via astron-1.htm, gravity0.htm ; quotings.htm, pascal.htm, etc. No Encoding. Quotes before replies. Snip well. Write clearly. Don't Mail News. Thanks for the info on heavens above and in future I shall take note of paragraph spacing. Please forgive a novice poster for this mistake. |
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Elusive Mercury
CJ wrote:
Hi all, Finding Mercury with the naked eye is a challenge which can be assisted by knowing exactly where to look and when to search for it in the sky. Over Easter time is a good time for us in the UK. The following times are for Sheffield South Yorkshire, other places should make adjustments to these times for sunset time. The Sun sets at 19 40 BST at 280 degrees from the North (measured clockwise). So it is 10 degrees further towards north than due west. So watch for a clear view of the western horizon for where the Sun sets (take care not to stare at the Sun for long as you will cause pain and possible eye damage). 1 hour later Venus and Mercury lie about 7 degrees above this point. The Sun is now 8 degrees below the horizon and the sky should be dark enough to find Venus quite easily. Once you have found Venus Mercury is 3 degrees to the right of Venus. If you extend your palm at arms length with your fingers closed your 4 fingers will span about 7 degrees. So small finger on horizon and top finger will show height of both planets above horizon. Venus is much brighter than Mercury but if you look in the correct place you will find it. If you still cannot find Mercury use binoculars to locate Venus and place Venus at the left hand side of the field and Mercury should be visible close to the right hand side of the field of view. Do not use binoculars until the Sun has been set for at least 30 minutes. The relative positions of Venus and Mercury are fairly constant over the following 7 days so there is a band of observing availability to catch sight of Mercury, however Mercury starts to fade in brightness so the earlier you start to catch it over Easter the easier it will be. If you fail at least you can watch Venus start to come into view earlier as the year progresses by watching where it appears higher each night 1 hour after sunset each night. Rather to my surprise and contrary to the weather forecast, the western sky was almost clear where I live yesterday evening just after sunset and Mercury was clearly visible even to the naked eye. First time I've seen Mercury from the UK - thanks for the information. Larry |
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Elusive Mercury
"Larry Stoter" wrote in message ... CJ wrote: Hi all, Finding Mercury with the naked eye is a challenge which can be assisted by knowing exactly where to look and when to search for it in the sky. Over Easter time is a good time for us in the UK. The following times are for Sheffield South Yorkshire, other places should make adjustments to these times for sunset time. The Sun sets at 19 40 BST at 280 degrees from the North (measured clockwise). So it is 10 degrees further towards north than due west. So watch for a clear view of the western horizon for where the Sun sets (take care not to stare at the Sun for long as you will cause pain and possible eye damage). 1 hour later Venus and Mercury lie about 7 degrees above this point. The Sun is now 8 degrees below the horizon and the sky should be dark enough to find Venus quite easily. Once you have found Venus Mercury is 3 degrees to the right of Venus. If you extend your palm at arms length with your fingers closed your 4 fingers will span about 7 degrees. So small finger on horizon and top finger will show height of both planets above horizon. Venus is much brighter than Mercury but if you look in the correct place you will find it. If you still cannot find Mercury use binoculars to locate Venus and place Venus at the left hand side of the field and Mercury should be visible close to the right hand side of the field of view. Do not use binoculars until the Sun has been set for at least 30 minutes. The relative positions of Venus and Mercury are fairly constant over the following 7 days so there is a band of observing availability to catch sight of Mercury, however Mercury starts to fade in brightness so the earlier you start to catch it over Easter the easier it will be. If you fail at least you can watch Venus start to come into view earlier as the year progresses by watching where it appears higher each night 1 hour after sunset each night. Rather to my surprise and contrary to the weather forecast, the western sky was almost clear where I live yesterday evening just after sunset and Mercury was clearly visible even to the naked eye. First time I've seen Mercury from the UK - thanks for the information. Larry It is knowing where to look, also when to look that makes observing Mercury much easier to find. There has to be a bright object such as the crescent Moon or Venus to guide you to the approximate position. Conventionally you are told to wait for maximum elongation but at this point mid April ,Mercury is 1.3 magnitudes fainter than now. It is not much less in separation from the Sun now so is easier to spot in the twilight sky as it is much brighter. |
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