Fingernail moon near Venus and Mercury this evening
Mercury continues to wow. Take a look for this bright, but rarely seen, planet after sunset over the next few days.
Venus will jump out to you right away; it is strikingly bright. While looking at Venus, look just to the right. It may take a minute, but you will be able to see Mercury. This is the best viewing period of Mercury I can remember.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mercury, Venus and the crescent moon lined up in the evening sky outside of Altoona, PA 3/18/2018 <a href="https://t.co/l49KgAHVRp">pic.twitter.com/l49KgAHVRp</a></p>— Brian Lada (@wxlada) <a href="https://twitter.com/wxlada/status/975714360889954305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2018</a></blockquote>
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AccuWeather Astronomy's Brian Lada snapped this stunning picture of the planets coupled with the crescent moon on Sunday. You can also see the "Earthshine" where the dark areas of the moon are illuminated by light reflecting off Earth! Just think of it as the Earth's landscape glowing during a full moon.
The crescent moon will be higher in the sky this evening, so it will be in the sky after it is completely dark. If nothing else, you will be able to see the Earthshine more clearly.
Many people never spot Mercury since it is usually very low on the horizon, due to its close proximity to the sun.
Don't wait too long to look for Mercury. It will drop closer to the horizon next week. It will be too close to the sun to be spotted by the end of March. Also, a massive storm will be impacting the Eastern U.S. tomorrow and Wednesday. So, look tonight!
Not too many things are free anymore; however, looking at the night sky is still one of those things. Thanks for reading! Just look up; you never know what you will see.
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