Venus and Mercury: April 4th

Tonight from Gates Pass on the west side of Tucson. Look closely and you can see cars on the road heading west.

If you missed them, don't fret. They are now past closest approach but will still be visible. Venus continues to climb higher in the sky and Mercury will start to dip toward the Sun meaning it appears lower in the sky (Mercury is also drifting north as it heads back toward the Sun). Mercury will appear dimmer as it catches up to Earth and will pass between Earth and the Sun on April 28th. As it approaches inferior conjunction, more of its night side points toward Earth so it will appear dimmer as well as lower in the sky and get more difficult to spot. If you watch it every night, you will know about where to look the next night and have a much easier time tracking it. Knowing where to look is half the battle!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.