View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Radu Anghel in Bacau, Romania, caught Mercury in February 2019. Although it’s intrinsically bright, Mercury often appears as this photo shows it, in a sky washed with twilight. Seeing it often requires a search. It’s only at opportune times that it’s possible to catch Mercury at all. Now is such a time. Read more.
Jupiter and Saturn have appeared close on our sky's dome throughout 2019, but they're due to get even closer in the coming months. Their conjunction will come on December 21, 2020. Here's how to watch them.
Here's a reconstructed "perspective view" of the tallest mountain on dwarf planet Ceres, which in turn is the largest world in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Earthly astronomers call the mountain Ahuna Mons. Read more.
View larger. | This chart shows 2019's apparitions of Mercury: 3 in the evening sky (gray) and 3 in the morning sky (blue). The top figures are the maximum elongations - maximum apparent distances - from the sun. Curving lines show the altitude of the planet above the horizon at sunrise or sunset, for latitude 40 degrees north (thick line) and 35 degrees south (thin). Chart via Guy Ottewell's blog.
Look for Mercury in the east before sunup. By August 11, Mercury will have lined up with the Gemini stars, Castor and Pollux. They’ll be pointing to Mercury and can help you find it. Before August 11 - throughout this week - you'll find Mercury to the west (right) of the Castor-Pollux line. With Mercury getting brighter by the day, you might catch it before sunrise for the next 2 weeks at latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Read more.
