The flighty planet Mercury, typically a tricky observing challenge from planet Earth, will be at its greatest distance from the sun in our sky Friday (Jan. 7).
While Mercury will be shining quite brightly at magnitude -0.6, the planet will be a mere 13 degrees above the horizon in New York City, still making it a challenging target. You might want to use binoculars if available.
But you will have some other planets to guide the way, according to In-The-Sky.org. As soon as the sky begins to grow dark after sunset, turn to the southwest sky. If you’re lucky, you should see a sloping line of four planets: Jupiter (at the top), Saturn, Mercury and Venus. Mercury should be just underneath the yellowy Saturn.
Related: How to see the brightest planets in January’s night sky
To look at Mercury and other amazing sky sights in 2022, check out our guide for the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals. Our guides for the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can also help make sure you’re ready to photograph the night sky.
Mercury is an especially challenging target for naked-eye observers given that it’s the closest planet to the sun. It spends much of its visible time nearly hugging the sun in our sky, making the planet hard to spot in twilight. (Warning: You should never look at the sun without protective eye equipment. Looking at the sun can cause permanent eye damage.)
So, it’s convenient that so many other planets are nearby to help point the way. The planets gathering in one spot this month is no mere cosmic coincidence, however. That’s because the Earth and other worlds orbit the sun in the same approximate plane in the solar system, called the ecliptic.
The sun and the moon also fall along the ecliptic, which can produce some interesting gatherings of planets and the moon several times a year. Sometimes the position of the sun and the moon can also produce solar eclipses or lunar eclipses.
Editor’s Note: If you snap an amazing night sky picture and would like to share it with Space.com readers, send your photos, comments, and your name and location to [email protected].
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