Mercury Over The Fair Barn

Most people have never seen the planet Mercury. Most of the time it is too close to the Sun because, well, it’s the closest planet to the Sun. But now and then the Earth, Mercury and the Sun align just right and you can see Mercury as a bright red dot low on the horizon just after sunset.

Mercury over the Pinehurst, NC Fair Barn

Tonight, 09-Feb-2013 at 6:36 pm I was at the Pinehurst, NC Harness Track short track, and took this image of planet Mercury hovering over the Pinehurst Fair Barn. Mars can be seen faintly just under Mercury.

-- Dalton Hammond