Pink Planet in the Sky; Mercury Visible As Pink Dot on Valentine's Day
The planet Mercury will be seen on the night of and around Valentine's Day as A bright pink dot in the sky.
The pink planet will show in a low spot in the night sky until Feb. 21 and it is only fitting that it will appear pink during the love-themed holiday.
Binoculars or a small telescope may be needed to find it in the glare of twilight as Mercury will be visible about a half hour after sunset if the conditions are right. The pink color comes from the rosy fade of sunlight as day turns to night, according to Space.com.
The best place to look for Mercury is near the horizon where the lingering glow of the sun is at its strongest point. However, stargazers should take note to look quickly for the planet's pink display, as it will reportedly only last around a half hour each night.
The reason for the strange display by Mercury is because the planet is at its greatest Eastern elongation period when it is at the furthest angle from the sun. The planet will be at its furthest point from the sun on Feb. 16 and shine at its brightest, according to Sky & Telescope.
Stargazers will also be able view the moon and Mars close to Mercury over the next few nights as they will appear relatively close.
Mercury will continue to grow brighter and will outshine Mars. The planet will start to dim starting around Feb. 16 and the night show will all but disappear a few days after.
Mercury is the closet planet to the sun with elliptical orbit that takes it as close as 29 million miles to the sun, compared to Earth at around 93 million miles. Since Mercury is so close to the sun, it is hard to directly observe from Earth except during twilight, according to National Geographic Magazine.
