Mercury will be at ‘greatest elongation’ with sun tomorrow

The planet Mercury will be at the “greatest elongation” point with the sun tomorrow, reaching its highest point over the western horizon, Qatar Calendar House (QCH) has said.People in Qatar will have a good chance to observe Mercury in the evening sky after sunset over the western horizon, according to a statement issued by QCH astronomy expert Dr Beshir Marzouk.They can see the planet for approximately an hour and 14 minutes tomorrow, from about 4.51pm until the setting time of Mercury at 6.05pm. During the “greatest elongation” period, the planet will be at the farthest angular distance to the Sun as observed from Earth, Dr Marzouk said.“Mercury will be at the ‘greatest elongation’ angle — 23.3 degrees – from the eastern sun’s centre,” QCH adds.Dr Marzouk said Mercury’s orbit is close to the sun, which is why it is not always possible to observe the planet for a long time after sunset.“Hence, this phenomenon is very important because it will be the best time to observe Mercury for a long duration because it will arrive at the highest point above the western horizon of the Qatar sky tomorrow. After the ‘greatest elongation’ time, the distance between Mercury and the sun will decrease every day,” he noted.Mercury had last reached its “greatest elongation” point with the sun on July 12, and this would occur again on February 27, 2019. The elongation is the angle between an object and the sun as seen from Earth. When a planet is at “greatest elongation” (east or west), it is at its farthest distance from the sun.