Sunday is one of the best planet-gazing days of the year for astronomers all over the world, as two of the inner planets of our solar system are on full display, along with August’s full moon.
Mercury is one of the brightest objects in the sky, however because it never ventures very far from the sun, our star’s powerful light means the planet is best observed when it stands out most clearly either at dusk or dawn.
The solar system’s innermost planet reaches its ‘greatest western elongation’, its highest point above our horizon, in the pre-dawn sky on Sunday, making that the best time so far this year to view the planet close up and with your own eyes.
Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation tomorrow! This is the best time to view the planet as it will be at its highest point above the horizon. Keep an eye on the eastern sky just before sunrise! pic.twitter.com/xXVbnhYvja
— Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) August 25, 2018
Viewers should wake up early and get up high to catch Mercury on the eastern sky just before sunrise, about 5am EDT. It is best viewed through binoculars or with your own eyes, so leave the telescope at home.
And if you’ve slept through Mercury’s elongation, there’s still a chance to spot another incredible celestial body on Sunday as it brightens in our skies. While August’s full moon (also called the ‘sturgeon moon’) rises in the east, the other inner planet, Venus, will be visible in the western sky.
Venus orbits the sun more closely than Earth, making it very difficult to spot most of the time. Although it reached elongation mid-August, it’s still bright enough to see at night.
Mercury will likely still be visible for the coming days, but sinks back into the sun’s glare after August 26. It reaches its ‘greatest eastern elongation’ every 116 days, though, so anyone who missed out can catch it again on December 15.
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