Steve’s Virtual Planet

Mercury rising!

The first stone from the Sun, Mercury, is coming into view in the evening sky. On June 10th and 11th Mercury will be joined by the 2 (and 3) day old moon with Venus brightly at it’s flank slightly to the North. By June 12, the planet will be 24 degrees from the sun and up high enough to (hopefully) clear the trees here in suburban Atlanta. Around June 19th, Mercury will be really close to Venus.

Mercury will linger in the very middle of the constellation Gemini for most of June. If you can sight Venus in the twilight hour as a start, then you can get you bearings. There are several sky charts online with links below. However, I always suggest using your SkyMap chart to get started. Then go to the the SkyView Cafe online tool to get a pinpoint layout of the western sky. By tweaking the date and time and using a 45 degree view to the west, you will be able to get a large image of the western sky that you can print.