Event Date: February 13th
Time: 6:30 PM
Brief
We have reached the best chance to see Mercury high enough in the sky over the next few days, as it is out of the glare of the Sun. It is still impressively bright enough to see at magnitude -0.7. Only one star in the sky outshines it right now, and that is Sirius seen to towards the south shortly after Sunset. Canopus, which is too far south to see from mid-northern latitudes (depending exactly which one), is slightly dimmer. Also featured with Mercury, is dimmer Mars further south, about five times dimmer. The waxing crescent Moon, which is already far north of the Sun at only 16% illuminated, sets about four hours after our star.
Here are all three, with the celestial equator shown, yet not the ecliptic or their orbits; this is intentional so as not to cover them up.
Detailed
As Mercury continues towards greatest eastern elongation, it is still moving north faster than the Sun and therefore, the set-gap of the two is increasing also. Being close to perihelion, Mercury is dimming slowly reflecting lots of Sunlight towards our eyes. Setting 86 minutes after the Sun, the peak of the gap will be nearly 90 minutes next week. As the second image shows below, it is 63% illuminated this evening, and nears dichotomy close to the evening of greatest elongation in a couple of days. The magnification is about 500x to show Mercury's waning gibbous phase, although with atmospheric pollution in the way, about 200x will be ideal.
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click on images to enlarge: courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus, version 6.4.3, by Simulation Curriculum Corp.
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Finally, Mars is still far enough north of the Sun to be seen for a very brief time in atmospheric pollution about 4º away from Mercury. It takes much longer after Sunset to see Mars with the eye and if you can, it sets just minutes afterwards. Use optical aid to see it longer and keep in mind that by month's end, Mars will be lost into the glare of Sunset. Catch it while you still can, and good luck.
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