Planet Mercury

Welcome to Planet Mercury
A website about the planet Mercury

Mercury is the first planet in our solar system. Named for the messenger god, Mercury is sometimes placed as the morning or evening star.

Being an inner planet, that is within Earth orbit, it never appears very far away from the Sun, so learning when the optimal times when Venus is furthest away from the Sun, it ket to observing Mercury. In this website we calculate those times known as "Elongations."

Today in Astronomy History
courtesy of astroplanet.info

February 9, 1497
Nicolaus Copernicus observes the lunar occulation the star Aldebaran.

February 9, 1971
Apollo 14 returns to Earth after a successful Moon landing.

February 9, 1986
Halley's Comet reach perihelion (closest pass to the Sun).

February 9, 1986
Halley's Comet reaches the 30th observed perihelion

...also in Astronomy Today
courtesy of astroplanet.info

February 9, 2010
Venus and Neptune in conjunction within 1° of each other

February 9, 2010
Waning, crescent moon passes within 9°10' of Pluto