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 5, 1843
The Great March Comet of 1843 is first observed by Encke.

February 5, 1924
The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins transmitting hourly time signals.

February 5, 1971
Apollo 14 lands on the Moon.