Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 4, 2005 4:03:10 GMT -6
Early Evening Conjunction
We get to catch a pleasent meeting of two worlds on the 11th of March and that falls on a Friday evening...
From Astronomy magazine:
Probably the best evening in March to view Mercury is March 11, when a 2-day-old crescent Moon lies nearby. You can spy Mercury 4° (eight Moon-widths) to the Moon's lower right. A view of Mercury through a telescope that evening reveals the planet's 7.2"-diameter disk, which appears 48-percent lit.
In the days following its greatest elongation, Mercury remains fairly high but fades rapidly. It reaches magnitude 0.3 March 17, when it lies 10° above the western horizon 30 minutes after sunset and sets 1 hour later.
---------------------
If the skies cooporate, this will be a great chance to catch them in the eyepiece. I have only managed to catch Mercury a scant few times, but the times I have, I was rewarded with phased views of the planet.
Quite cool.