2 Mercury viewing events coming this week: Astronomical Museum

Taipei, June 14 (CNA) Two celestial events involving Mercury will be visible to the naked eye in the evenings of June 17 and 18 if conditions are favorable, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said Sunday.

Mercury orbits closer to the sun than Earth, and it is often difficult to observe, as its proximity to the sun usually leaves it hidden in the solar glare.

During mid-June, however, the planet is visible low in the western sky after sunset and can be seen more easily with binoculars, the museum said in a statement.

The first event will occur Tuesday, when Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation -- the point at which the planet appears farthest from the sun in the evening sky.

At that time, Mercury will be separated from the Sun by 24.5 degrees, making it one of the best opportunities of the year to observe the planet, according to the museum.

Mercury will be about 22 degrees above the western horizon around sunset, the museum said.

On Wednesday evening, Mercury will join Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon in the western sky. The four objects will form a vertical arrangement, with Mercury at the bottom, followed by Jupiter, the moon and Venus at the top, the museum said.

The museum recommended viewing the events between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. from a location with an unobstructed view of the western horizon.

Museum researcher Wu Tien-yen (吳典諺) cautioned, however, that the recent unstable weather could affect visibility, and that viewing conditions would depend on cloud cover.