Rare Transit of Mercury, November 11, 2019

A rare transit of Mercury will occur on November 11. The closest planet to the sun will be seen crossing the sun as a small black dot, the planet seen in silhouette, as it passes from the evening sky into the morning sky.

In this composite image provided by NASA, the planet Mercury passes directly between the sun and Earth on May 9, 2016 in a transit which lasted seven-and-a-half-hours. On Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, Mercury will make another transit, visible from the eastern U.S. and Canada, and all Central and South America. The rest of North America, Europe and Africa will catch part of the action. Asia and Australia will miss out. (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO/Genna Duberstein via AP

In Israel the transit will begin at 2:35pm IST. In the US the transit will begin at 7:35am EST. The entire transit will last 5 1/2 hours, so the sun will set in Israel as the transit is still in progress. The next transit isn't until 2032 and North America won't see another transit until 2049. There are only 13 or 14 Mercury transits visible from earth per century.

This should make for some wonderful photo opportunities, especially as the sun sets, IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT. You should never stare at the sun with your naked eye without proper solar filters. You can damage your sight permanently. If you have solar eclipse gasses you can put them on to try viewing the transit with your naked eye, but Mercury will be a very tiny dot and probably not visible without optical aid.  Don't put binoculars up to your eyes with solar filter glasses on. The sun will melt them instantly and shine into your eye. All proper solar filters need to be in front of the main optics to block the light of the sun from entering. The same goes for your cameras. Without a proper solar filter in front of your lens you will burn out the camera's sensor. It will take a minimum of a 300mm lens to show the silhouette of Mercury against the sun. Bigger is better. As the sun sets with Mercury in transit it should make for some special photos from Machtesh Ramon.

Astronomy Israel (me) is setting up solar telescopes for viewing at Har Gamal in Mitzpe Ramon. We should be out by 3:00pm. Just put "Har Gamal Mitzpe Ramon" in Google Maps or Waze to find us. No charge for this event. You are welcome to join us for a star tour at 9:30pm Monday night. To get all information and book a tour click: www.bookeo.com/astronomyisrael

2018: Best Summer I can Remember for Viewing Naked Eye Planets

This is the best summer  I can remember ever for viewing the naked eye planets. All five, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are all visible in the early evening sky, sometimes as many as four at one time! These are all the planets known to  the ancients, the sixth, Uranus, not being visible to the naked eye had to await the invention of the telescope and was discovered by the famous British astronomer Sir William Herschel on March 13, 1781.

Start off your evening of planet watching at 8:30pm looking west. You can't help but see the brilliant luminary Venus high in the western sky, looking like a beacon of light. In fact during war times it has frequently been mistaken as an incoming enemy aircraft and shot at by anti-aircraft gunners. They missed. Below and to the right of Venus, about 2/3rds down a diagonal line connecting Venus to the sunset point, is much dimmer Mercury. Around 8:30pm on July 6-12 it is the only other bright object visible in the sky, about 15 degrees above the horizon, WNW. Can you see it's distinctly yellow color compared to creamy white Venus?

Venus and Mercury in the western sky about 8:30pm on July 6, 2018.

Later in mid-July the new moon will appear near Mercury and make it easier to find if you haven't found it yet.

Venus and Mercury during mid-July with the new crescent moon right next to Mercury.

Don't wait too long to look for elusive Mercury it will start sinking lower in the sky at dusk after mid-month as it heads back towards the sun. This is a particularly good apparition of the planet with it so high in the sky and making it so easily found.

While you're watching Mercury set turn Eastward to find the ringed gas-giant planet Saturn rising about 15 degrees above the horizon in the southeast, right above the bow of the constellation Sagittarius. While the dimmest of all the planets in the sky now, besides Mercury, it is still the distinctively brightest object in that region of the sky. It kind of distorts the shape of the Archer's bow as it lies just above and left of its top-most star.

Now turn and face due south. It's hard to miss the brightest object now high in the sky at about 50 degrees above the horizon, the brilliant gas-giant Jupiter. After Venus sets about 10:00pm it is distinctively the brightest object in the sky.

You have now seen four of the five naked eye planets simultaneously in the  sky, a rare occurrence. I can't remember the last time I saw so many.

But wait! It get's better. Around 10:15pm be sure to look due east where you will see the brilliant red planet Mars rise at the horizon. This is the best apparition of Mars since 2003, so it is a brilliant red orb in the sky, brighter even than Jupiter, another rare occurence. Be sure to watch it as it rises and see if you can feel the earth move beneath you. I never can!

You have now seen all five naked eye planets in the sky in the span of just two hours. I have no idea when this will happen again so enjoy it now while you can.

For a real thrill why not join us for a star tour in Mitzpe Ramon where you can see the planets through our telescopes, as well as the star clouds of the Milky Way with the ringed planet Saturn in the foreground. Click the link below for a reservation.

Mercury and Venus Set Beside the Dome of the Weiss Observatory in Mitzpe Ramon

Venus, upper left, and mercury set next to the dome of the Weiss Observatory in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel.

Venus and Mercury Close Together in Mid-January Sky

Venus and Mercury are putting on a nice show in the mid-January sky. The two planets are quite close together just as the sun sets in mid-January. Venus is to the upper left while Mercury is just below to the right. The two are a pretty sight. Dim Mars appears as the reddish object far above and left of Venus. Here in one g are the three closest planets to earth.

Mercury and Venus are always seen in the dusk or dawn sky since they orbit the sun interior to the earth, hence we are always looking in the direction of the sun when we observe them. Mercury is by far the most elusive of the twilight pair since it is closest to the sun and id usually lost in the suns glare. Go out the next few nights and see Venus and Mercury together. Mercury is so elusive that even Copernicus was said to never have observed it himself.

How to locate Mercury, Venus and Mars in the evening sky of mid-January 2015.

My own attempt to capture Venus (upper left) and Mercury as they set over a desert landscape in Mitzpe Ramon.

What would the planets look like at the distance of our moon?

I love depictions of celestial bodies that show the vast difference in their sizes. Here's one of the planets in our solar system seen down the end of a dark highway if they were the same distance away as our moon, around 230,00 miles or 300,000km on average. Of course the gas giant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, have immense gravitational fields that would make short work of us on earth at that distance, but let's hold gravity in abeyance for a while while we contemplate the awesome difference in the size of the objects in our solar system.

Earth's moon and the planets of our solar system seen at the distance of the moon, 230,00 miles/300,000km

Don't Miss Venus and the New Moon in the Evening Sky Tonight

Tonight, Sunday September 8, the new moon of Tishrei, just 3 days old, will make a beautiful pairing with Venus in the evening sky at sunset. Venus and the moon will be the two brightest objects in the sky, with Saturn visible above and to the left of Venus. If you have a completely clear western horizon and a pair of binoculars you should also be able to glimpse the elusive planet Mercury due west, above and to the left of the setting sun. But it will be very low in the sky and will set shortly after the sun. The other two planets and the moon will be visible well into darkness. On Monday night the moon will be above and left of Venus, not nearly as close, but still a pretty sight.

Give it a try and let us know what you see. Venus, Saturn and the moon are bright enough to be visible from even light polluted skies in Israel.

Venus will be visible just above and left of the moon, impossible to miss in the darkening sunset sky. Saturn should also be easy to see above and left of Venus, with Mercury a difficult binocular object above and just left of the setting sun. This view of the sky is for 7:00PM Local Israel Time on September 8, 2013. 

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Triple Conjunction of Mercury-Venus-Jupiter

The triple conjunction of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter continues apace in the western sky just after sunset. The three planets are visible low to the northwest between 8:00-8:30 Israel Daylight Time. You will need a very clear western horizon, as the three are very close to setting when it gets dark enough to see them.

It is a beautiful sight to behold, the three planets being so bright! It is also unusual to see Mercury so high in the sky, the topmost of the three. The conjunction will continue to be visible until May 30, 2013. Go out and watch the planets visibly change position tonight and tomorrow night. It's the last triple planetary conjunction until 2024!

Mercury, Venus and Jupiter set on the night of May 28th in the hills behind Mitzpe Ramon. Photo taken at 8:30PM IDT, May 28, 2013. Mercury is the topmost of the trio, Jupiter to the lower left, Venus to the lower right.

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• Rare 3-Planet Sight Tonight: See Jupiter, Mercury and Venus Together
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New Moon of Adar with Mercury!

I was out again tonight, photographing the new moon of Adar together with Mercury. Mars is somewhere in here below Mercury, but lost in the haze. This time I managed to include the dome of the Weiss Observatory 40-inch telescope. I was right up next to the rim of Machtesh Ramon, a bit scary after dark. I'll try again tomorrow night when the moon will be bigger and brighter.

The new moon of Adar 5773 on February 11, 2013, 6:15PM local time, just 28 hours old!. Mercury is seen to the lower left of the moon, with the dome and slit of the Weiss observatory 40-inch reflector to the right.

Mercury and Mars in the February Evening Sky

Observing alert for Mercury and Mars. These two planets will appear within one degree (twice the diameter of a full moon) of each other just after sunset on the Thursday evening of February 7, 2013. You will need a very clear horizon to the south west, and possibly binoculars, to see them both this close to sunset.

Mars will continue to disappear into the sun, but Mercury will continue rising into the evening sky for its first sunset apparition of the new year. Keep an eye out for it as February advances.

Mercury and Mars appear just south of west in the early evening sky on Thursday, February 7. This view is for 5:45PM on the night of February 7, but the two planets will continue to be close to each other for the next couple of days.

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• Watch Mercury and Mars Appear in the Night Sky: Don't Miss Out!
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Did You See Jupiter and Mercury This Week?

We did. We went up to our observing location just below the Wise Observatory. When we arrived around 6:30PM the sky was still too bright to see even Jupiter. As I turned to setting up my tripod and camera to take a photo, I looked up and all of a sudden could see both Jupiter and Mercury! What a beautiful sight to see them in a clear sky at sunset just above the dome of the Weiss Observatory as they were preparing for their night's research. Wish you could have been there with Donny, Yair and me.

Jupiter is seen to the upper right of the dome of the Weiss Observatory with Mercury below and to the right near the trees. (Click for full size image.)

Related articles

• Elusive Mercury Visible This Week as NASA Probe Nears (space.com)
• The smallest and largest planets dance in the west tonight (blogs.discovermagazine.com)
• Jupiter to Leave the Evening Sky for Awhile (space.com)

See Elusive Mercury in the Night Sky

Mercury is a very elusive planet. Being the first from the sun, it is never far from that globe's scorching rays and appears only briefly in the morning or evening sky. This March Mercury is very well positioned  for viewing in the early evening sky, so you don't even have to get up early to see it. Adding to the ease in identifying it is the fact that it will only be 2 degrees from very bright Jupiter on March 14 and 15, when the two are closest together.

Beginning on March 13 and continuing through March 16 you should be able to see Mercury and Jupiter together with the naked eye, starting around 40 minutes after sunset and continuing until Mercury sets about an hour later. You will need a very clear western horizon, since both planets will be quite low in the sky. Jupiter will be around magnitude -2 and Mercury around magnitude -1, both very bright.

Here is what the scene should look like looking west around 6:00PM local time on March 14:

Jupiter and Mercury in the western sky around 6:00PM local time on March 14. (Click for full size.)

This image shows the two planets' relative positions in the evening sky from March 13-16:

From Sky and Telescope Magazine

On March 14 and 15 the two planets will be only around 2 degrees apart, the angle of sky subtended by your thumb held at arm's length. Don't miss this opportunity to see what even Copernicus himself never saw, the planet Mercury. 

And as Brainiac says...

"Keep on lookin' up!"

Astronomy Photo of the Week - The Earth and its Moon as seen from Mercury

Oh would some power the giftie gie us, to see ourselves as others see us

This photo, taken by the robotic spacecraft Messenger, shows the Earth-Moon system as it appears from the vicinity of the orbit of Mercury.