PLANET Mercury will be visible with the naked eye tomorrow.
This weekend is a great chance to spot the smallest planet in our Solar System, which is often not visible because it gets drowned out by the Sun’s glare.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and is about to reach the outer most edge of its orbit that is visible from Earth.
This means its far enough away from the Sun’s glare to been seen with the naked eye.
This is something astronomers refer to as Mercury at elongation.
On the evening of January 23, Mercury will be shining more brightly than almost any other star in the night sky.
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This should help you locate it above the western horizon.
Try looking around an hour after sunset.
You’ll have a roughly 30 minute viewing window.
Mercury will be 18 degrees east of the sun till January 27 but will become fainter as the days go on.
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The planet will shine five times brighter and to the right of nearby star Fomalhaut which is found in the Piscis Austrinus constellation.
Sometimes smartphones can be useful to point out the location of constellations and planets in the night sky.
You can try downloading one of these apps to point yourself in the right direction.
Make sure you give your eyes a break from your phone afterwards though, stargazing is best when your eyes have adjusted to the dark.
Stargazing apps for Android and iPhone include: SkyView Lite, Star Tracker and Star Walk 2.
Some apps are free but a lot of them charge so it depends if you want to put up with adverts or not.
It’s advisable to read the reviews of an app and look at how many people have rated it before downloading.
Mercury facts
Here’s what you need to know…
- Mercury is the smallest planet
- Mercury has been known to humanity since ancient times and it is not known who discovered it
- It has no moons or rings
- It is the closest planet to the Sun
- It is the second hottest planet after Venus despite being closer to the Sun
- Mercury has more craters than any other planet
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Will you be looking out for Mercury this weekend? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
