Article Posted on : - Mar 22, 2011

NEW DELHI (PTI): Sky enthusiasts will be able to spot planet Mercury in the evening twilight on Wednesday as the morning star will be furthest from the Sun.

Mercury will be seen high in the sky after sunset beginning Wednesday, R C Kapoor, a retired professor from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics said.

"In general it is not easy to locate Mercury in the sky. However, the planet will reach its greatest eastern elongation of about 18 degrees on Wednesday following which it can be seen with the naked eyes," he said.

When a planet is at Elongation, it is furthest from the Sun as viewed from Earth, so its view is best at that point.

Mercury will be seen in the western skies at around 6:28 PM, he said, adding the planet will shine with a magnitude of 0.4.

Also, Jupiter can be seen in the sky theatre stationed just below Mercury.