(no subject)
If you have an opportunity to be outside the next couple nights after sunset, starting at 8pm or so, look low to the West.
Venus can't be missed. After the sun and moon, it's the brightest thing in the sky right now. But! Just a bit lower and to the right is a yellow-orange dot -- bright but much fainter than Venus. That's Mercury. It's pretty common to see the other visible planets, though most people glance right over them (Mars is orange and straight up at 8 or 9pm). Even for people who are looking, however, Mercury is one of those planets that is hard to recognize. It whips around the sun in just over 60 days, and most of that time it's too close to the sun to see. The closeness of Venus and Mercury over the next few days makes it easier to spot.
Check it out!
Venus can't be missed. After the sun and moon, it's the brightest thing in the sky right now. But! Just a bit lower and to the right is a yellow-orange dot -- bright but much fainter than Venus. That's Mercury. It's pretty common to see the other visible planets, though most people glance right over them (Mars is orange and straight up at 8 or 9pm). Even for people who are looking, however, Mercury is one of those planets that is hard to recognize. It whips around the sun in just over 60 days, and most of that time it's too close to the sun to see. The closeness of Venus and Mercury over the next few days makes it easier to spot.
Check it out!