Indeed, 2017 has been very active when it comes to providing delightful space stories to space's loyal fans. And guess what, planet Mercury joins the bandwagon as it will be visible from Earth this March.
According to Earth Sky, March kicked off with an amazing joining of planets Venus and Mars. After the brightness shown by the evening star, it shall soon make its final show in the evening sky this March 25 as it shifts to become a morning habit. Planet enthusiasts should not get sad by Venus' farewell as another planet will take its place, it's none other than the first planet in the solar system: Mercury.
According to Space, Mercury will be greatly visible by the end of the March, specifically this March 27, up until the first week of April. Mercury will grace the night which will set shortly after the conclusion of the twilight and it will take around 90 minutes.
At this rate, Mercury is already visible and sets about 45 minutes after every sunset. Astronomers also noted that Mercury won't be too hard to search for as it will be one of the brightest bodies with a tinge of yellow orange. These experts also imparted that this brightness actually puts Mercury behind Venus and Jupiter as the brightest planets visible on Earth.
Space experts also shared that Mercury is very similar to Earth's moon and the planet Venus as it also undergoes different phases. At this point in time up until the last week of March, Mercury is on a gibbous phase which clearly explains why it is very visible in the night sky just like the star Sirius. As days pass by, Mercury will also start to go half-illuminated until it fades from the Earth's atmosphere.
By April 8, it is expected that the Mercury will be just as bright as the star Castor of the Gemini constellation. It will be visible just like the moon in its crescent shape and astronomers advise the public to take the opportunity these days to see Mercury on its full glory before it dims in the night sky.
