Mercury deserves more respect!

mercury-set

Please watch the southwestern sky right after sunset tonight. You may be able to see 3 planets at once: Mercury, Venus and Mars. In the Washington, DC area people often rely on the Washington Post Metro section’s back page for info about the Solar system. But the list does not include all planets visible to the naked eye. Last year the Post decided to eliminate Mercury from its list to save room!!!!  See 12/16/16 list below. See how much room they saved by eliminating Mercury!

mercury-wapo

Mercury rises at 8:49 AM and sets at 6:08 PM. Mercury is very faint and pretty close to the horizon. You’ll need a location that allows you a clear view from not too high above the horizon. Even if you can’t see Mercury, look for Venus which is higher and extremely bright. Mars is easy to identify because of its subtle red glow. If it’s cloudy, try another evening when the sky is clear. Remember planets rise and set at a slightly different time every day so Mercury won’t be visible for much longer.

Please help me choose a good name for my blog. I need a name that will help people find the blog. What about “Walk this way”?

 

Published by

Carrie Staples

Author, illustrator of "The Yarn Animal Book", probably the only craft book with instructions for making such unique yarn animals as an orangutan, an ant eater, a llama and a star-nosed mole and "The Single Minded Prince, a fairy tale for all ages about a boy and a pirate captain who both misbehave. The books and a booklet series based on each different yarn craft topic covered in "The Yarn Animal Book" (pompoms and other really easy yarn crafts, knitting, crocheting, rya, needlepoint and embroidery), are available on Amazon and Kindle.

Leave a comment