Of the five planets visible to the naked eye, Mercury is usually the most challenging to see, because it never wanders far from the sun. But the planets will be visible to the naked eye for the next two weeks as bright object. Enthusiasts can spot Mercury shining like a star, which will dominate the low western sky shortly after sunset.
Brilliant Venus will serve as a guidepost for sky-watchers to easily find tiny Mercury.Four of the other planets are clearly visible on many nights but the smallest planet in the solar system the Mercury is different. It is seen only in the sunrise and sunset sky, however even then it stays out of sight most of the time and is usually hiding low in the twilight when it shows at all. But this time things are different.
If in the first weeks of April we look low in the west direction as twilight fades, our eyes would witness not just one shining object but two. The brilliant one is Venus, and along with it Mercury is the smaller partner to its lower right, separated from it by about the width of two fingers at arm’s length.
As the cosmic duo climb higher in the sky, they finally reach conjunction, which is their closest approach to each other. This sight will be available on Saturday and Sunday. These nights the two planets will seem to be separated by only three degrees, or the equivalent of six full-moon disks. If you can’t see Mercury with the unaided eye, use binoculars. Mercury and Venus readily fit within a single binocular field. Look for Mercury and Venus about 30 to 75 minutes after sunset but before it gets very dark. Mercury and Venus follow the sun beneath the horizon about 1.5 hours after sundown.
As seen from Earth, Mercury tightly hugs the horizon, and it appears faint because it’s swathed in the sun’s glare. The innermost planet, Mercury orbits the sun so closely that a year lasts just 88 Earth days. On the contrary, Venus is about twice as big a planet as Mercury and it’s covered with brilliant white clouds, while Mercury is a bare world of dark gray rocks and dust.
Luckily, Venus is also showing us more of its sunlit dayside right now.
Not only this, planet-hunters will be able to see all five naked-eye planets in a single night. As darkness sets in, firstly, Mars will become visible directly overhead, appearing as a red-tinged, star like object. A little later, Saturn will appear slightly above the eastern horizon and will rise higher during the night. Finally, the gas-giant planet Jupiter will rise in the east just before sunrise. All this besides the rare mercury spotting will make the event all the more enjoyable.