Mercury Above Lake Constance, Germany

June 01, 2008

060108

Provided and copyright by: Harald Wochner
Summary authors & editors: Harald Wochner, Jim Foster

The photo above shows the fleet and elusive planet Mercury on the evening of April 29, 2008, as observed from Lake Constance (aka Bodensee) in southern Germany. Normally, Mercury is quite faint at the beginning of a new apparition, but in late April, the Sun’s closest companion was easily seen a little after sundown. Because it orbits so near the Sun, Mercury is best seen when it's at its greatest elongation, or greatest separation from the Sun as viewed from Earth. The steeple in the mid-ground is from the Church of Radolfzell.