Rare Sight: Mercury Comes Close To Venus & Moon For Next Few Nights! Here's How & When To Watch
Click here to find out all about Mercury, Venus and Moon sighting over the next week. When will which planet be visible and where.
Given that Venus, the third brightest object in Earth's sky, is about to disappear from the evening sky and become a morning planet by the end of May, you should not miss out the next few nights when mercury will move closer to the Venus and the Moon.
Even though Mercury is one of those planets that is difficult to spot this week you will be able to observe the closest planet to the sun as it hangs with Venus in the evening sky.
UNIVERSAL IMAGES
On some nights even the moon will be visible with the two according to Ethan Siegel at Forbes.
Mercury will be relatively closer to Venus between the nights of May 21 to May 25, with the two closest on the evenings of May 21 and May 22. They'll be low in the west-northwestern sky, with both appearing within an hour of sunset. So if you plan to look at this rare sighting make sure to not wait for late night and look for Venus right after sunset; it would be easy to spot because of its brightness.
After spotting Venus, look towards the point where the sun has set. Mercury will appear close to Venus in that very sunset.
What you need is a dark sky (as dark as possible near sunset), patience and a clear view of the horizon without obstruction, to be able to take it all in.
Image only for representation/Original Image- MATT CHAMPLIN
Since Mercury is close to the sun given our line of sight, it is always close to the star, that is one of the reasons why it is difficult to spot. It¡¯s not visible during the day and given its proximity to the sun there are only some moments after sunrise or sunset when the planet is visible with the naked eye.
Over the next few nights as Venus continues to descend and Mercury continues rise, they will be joined the waxing Moon.
According to Forbes, on May 23, Venus and the Moon will make a close approach, visible shortly after sunset.
On May 24, the Moon will pass by Mercury with Venus still close by.
Earth Sky
If you happen to have a telescope or binoculars, May 21 is the best opportunity to watch mercury and Venus within less than a degree of each other; they will be visible in the same field of view.
The best part about this week¡¯s events is that you would not have to even stay up late or get up early to observe them. So mark the dates and get ready to chill with the neighbouring planets.
