Mercury's Greatest Elongation

Heide Observatory

Hawthorn Hollow Nature

Mercury's orbit lies closer to the Sun than the Earth's, meaning it always appears close to the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare much of the time.It is observable for only a few weeks each time it reaches greatest separation from the Sun – moments referred to as greatest elongation. These apparitions repeat roughly once every 3–4 months, taking place alternately in the morning and evening skies, depending whether Mercury lies to the east of the Sun or to the west.When it lies to the east, it rises and sets a short time after the Sun and is visible in early evening twilight. On September 14 it will have a 26.8° eastern elongation. Observing conditions will be better at lower latitudes, from where it will be setting approximately 1.5 hours after the sun.Come out to the Schoolyard Observatory where we will take a trip to the Western field and view Mercury through binoculars and a few field telescopes. After which we will explore other planets and our moon through our telescopes.

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