Right Place, Right Time: See Mercury in the Night Sky This Week - Yahoo News
The red line is Mercury's orbit , which you can see is tilted quite a bit compared to the ecliptic. Of all the planets, Mercury's 7-degree tilt is the most extreme. The small, orange dot marks Mercury's position this Friday —as far east of the sun as it can go. [ Planet Mercury: Some Surprising Facts for Skywatchers ]. How will Mercury look to viewers on Earth. This view of Mercury is how it will appear to me from my location close to Toronto at sunset. So, even though Mercury is as far east of the sun as it can get, at this time of the year, it ends up very close to the horizon during the best viewing time, around sunset. To make matters worse, because of its orbit's tilt, Mercury is quite far south of the ecliptic at this time. As a result, Mercury is barely 7 degrees above the horizon at sunset. Source: news.yahoo.com
