Look soon after sunset for Mercury in May 2008
Comment Print Me Email to FriendTonight's Sky for Tuesday, May 13 2008
For the northern hemisphere, these May evenings present the best opportunity all year for catching Mercury in the evening sky. Even so, Mercury – the closest planet to the sun – never strays far from the twilight glare. When at its best in the evening sky, Mercury still sits low over the horizon. By the time it gets good and dark each evening, Mercury sets. So look in early evening!
With an unobstructed view westward, you have a good chance of spotting Mercury with the unaided eye about 1 to 1.5 hours after sunset. With binoculars, you might see this world 30 to 45 minutes after sundown. Look low in your west-northwest sky, about where the sun resides shortly before setting. Mercury sets roughly 2 hours after the sun.
The trick to seeing Mercury will be looking at the right place along the horizon. There are many bright stars setting in the southwest at this time of year. Face the direction of the sunset and look for a bright star – along that sunset horizon – as far to the north (right) along that horizon as possible. The brightest star – farthest to the north along the sunset horizon – will probably be Capella. If you wait until the sky gets dark, you might notice a compact triangle below Capella. Capella is called the Goat Star, and this little Triangle is called The Kids. Of course, if you wait for true darkness to fall, you might miss Mercury! See how tricky astronomy can be?
Still, after sunset, you’ll probably see the star Capella before seeing Mercury. Capella, the northernmost of first-magnitude stars, outshines Mercury by a touch. Just remember, Capella is the bright star that’s the farthest north (or farthest right) at evening dusk. Once you find this sparkling gem, look to the lower left of Capella to spot Mercury shining nearby the horizon.
