Do you want to see the planet most people have not seen?

 


Image Credit: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm.

This is a montage of planetary images taken by spacecraft managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Included are (from top to bottom) images of Mercury, Venus, Earth (and Moon), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Ask people you meet if they have seen the planet Mercury. Most will say they have not seen it. If they say they have seen it, ask them when they saw it and where.  Why is it so difficult to see? It is a planet close to the Sun. During part of the year, you see it rise on the eastern horizon. On some of these days you can see it about 45 minutes before sunrise.

During another part of the year, it can be seen within 45 minutes of Sunset on Western horizon. You cannot see Mercury when the Sun is shining. The sunlight is much more powerful than the light from Mercury.

It is dangerous to look at the Sun directly, because its rays can damage your eyes. Today, when I write this, it is best to see Mercury about forty-five minutes before Sunrise. You can ask someone to find out when the Sun will rise in your city. They can look up using their cell phone and tell you. Are you ready to get up early enough? Is the east visible from your place? Can you see the eastern horizon without buildings or trees blocking the view? Make sure that you are safe when you are trying to observe something in the sky. What is in front of your foot is usually more important than what you are trying to see in the sky!

How many planets can be seen in the sky without a telescope or binoculars? Five: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

The planet nearest to you is not in that list. Why not? Which planet is that? 

Srinivasan Ramani  




 

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