Pink Planet at Sunset
The Pink Planet is back. After an absence of more than 3 months, Mercury is emerging from the glare of the sun and making itself visible again in the evening sky. Giuseppe Petricca sends this picture taken last night in the Peligna Valley of central Italy,
"We had a wonderful sunset with beautiful twilight colors," says Petricca. "In the middle of my photographic session I remembered that Mercury would be visible, and indeed it was. It was the only bright dot shining through the twilight."
Mercury is mostly gray, not pink, but many observers perceive it as pink because of the surrounding rosy glow of sunset. Look west at sunset. What color do you see?
The view will improve in the evenings ahead. Mercury is heading for its best apparition of 2014 on May 25th when it willl be a full 23 degrees from the sun. Keep an eye on the sunset--and Mercury; it's a nice way to end the day.
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