Can Mercury Be Seen from Earth?
Mercury can be seen from Earth with both the naked eye and the telescope. However, due to Mercury’s size and proximity to the sun, it isn’t easy to spot with the naked eye.
Where Can Mercury Be Seen?
Mercury appears very close to the Sun from your vantage point on Earth. The planet Mercury appears between 17-28 degrees away from the sun (Powell, 2012). When observing Mercury through a telescope, you may have poor visibility due to its low altitude on the horizon. With a telescope, Mercury will go through phases similar to our Moon’s (Rao, 2006).
When Can Mercury be seen from Earth?
According to NASA (2012), Mercury orbits the sun every 88 days. Due to this highly elliptic orbit, you can only see this planet right before sunrise or after sunset. You will not be able to see Mercury when the sky is completely dark. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to view Mercury is on March through April evenings and September through October mornings. For the Southern Hemisphere, the reverse is true. You can see Mercury roughly 45 minutes after sundown or 45 minutes before sunrise (Powell, 2012).
