Most people have never seen the planet Mercury. It’s so close to the sun, that it’s always near the horizon at sunset or sunrise. This week is a really great viewing opportunity.

Here’s where to look from the folks at Sky and Telescope Mag. If you have students in the house, you should grab a subscr.  and leave it around 😉

Click the image for Sky & Telescope's article on it.

Little is known about Mercury and later this week the Messenger probe arrives this week as well and will give science the best ever look at Mercury.

The image below is from Stellarium showing the sky at 7:15 PM CDT in Huntsville on Wednesday 16 March.

The sky at 20 minutes past sunset on Wednesday March 16 in Huntsville. Your view will be very similar.