Planet spectacle over Germany: On these days, Mercury will be visible in the sky in April
Created: 04/15/2022, 08:25
By: Anna Lehmer
Rarely does it show itself so well to people: The shy planet Mercury can be admired in April under the best observation conditions.
Munich - The sun, moon and stars have always fascinated people.
But when a planet like Mercury appears in all its glory above people's heads, it's a rarity.
In April, all attentive stargazers can see it better than it has been for a long time.
The chances of admiring the space spectacle are good, because now it offers the best viewing conditions of the whole year.
Mercury: What is behind the planet full of mysteries?
The European Space Agency (ESA) describes it as a planet full of mysteries.
In fact, Mercury is the least studied planet in the solar system.
Due to its close proximity to the sun and its fast orbit, it is difficult to observe from a distance.
Its surface, which is billions of years old, is riddled with craters, making it similar to Earth's moon.
Mercury does not have an atmosphere like that of the earth, rather it resembles our moon here as well.
It's a place where extreme heat meets freezing cold.
Between minus 200 and plus 430 degrees are possible, depending on how the sun arrives, according to the ESA.
Researchers have searched in vain for traces of wind and water.
Only in the depths of craters near the poles could presumably be water ice that dates back to the planet's formation period.
The mysterious planet has not been photographed over half of its surface, and even less is known about its interior.
ESA hopes to gain new insights from the BepiColombo probe, which is currently on its way to it.
Starry sky April: Mercury shows itself from its best side
Each evening the small planet closest to the sun will show up.
From April 15, the
Bayerischer Rundfunk
is scheduled to show Mercury deep in the west 30 minutes after sunset.
It is then visible as a tiny dot with the help of binoculars.
From April 20th to 25th it can also be seen with the naked eye.
After that, Mercury's brightness will decrease more rapidly, although it can still be seen in early May on the cloud-free horizon.
Most recently, the smallest planet in our solar system appeared in the evening hours at the turn of the year.
Planet show in April: Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter join Mercury
For space fans, the universe has more surprises in store, because the shy Mercury does not appear alone in the sky in people's field of vision.
In April there is a big planetary meeting: Venus, Mars and Saturn spread out across the starry sky.
There is also Jupiter, which completes the round with Mercury.
According to BR
, the best time to observe planets is early in the morning
.
Then Venus shines brightly, while Mars feels comfortable faintly in the background.
Saturn is increasing in brightness and will be joined by Jupiter in the morning eastern sky in late April.
The four planets are a bit shy in the evening and appear much worse than in the morning.
This is compensated by the appearance of Mercury in mid-April.
However, the prediction of the planetary show is like the weather forecast: not everything can be predicted exactly.
Illustration from the International Astronomical Union (IAU) shows newly defined planets and dwarf planets of the solar system.
Photo: IAU/Martin Kommesser/dpa © IAU Martin Kommesser
If you don't want to wait until mid-April, you can see planets in the sky before then.
Because the first “stars” that twinkle over people when darkness falls are often planets.
They have a higher luminosity than stars because they are closer to Earth.
And one or the other constellation crosses the planets, because they move through the solar system at different speeds and are a little different every evening.
