Pune: This week, sky-gazers will get a good opportunity to spot
Mercury, usually a difficult planet to place. In a rare
astronomical phenomenon on November 10, Venus and Mercury will
be seen closest to each other and right above the western
horizon. "As the monsoon clouds recede and the skies get clear,
Mercury and Venus can be seen right above the western horizon as
it gets dark after sunset," said Arvind Paranjpye, scientific
officer, public outreach programme, Inter-University Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics. Venus, Mercury and Antares, a star,
will be close together, forming a short straight line, and from
then on the constellation Scorpion, gets lower in the sky each
night, and by month's end, will have set. Finally, on the 28th,
Mercury and a thin crescent Moon will be close together beneath
the brightly shining Venus, Paranjpye said. "It is believed that
Copernicus, who first suggested that the planets go round the
sun, had never set eyes on Mercury. In Indian astronomy, Antares
is 18th Nakshtra