Heading into summer affords observers the opportunity to catch the fleeting planet Mercury

PLANET OF THE MONTH

Mercury is one of the Solar System’s forgotten planets. It has only been visited by a few space probes, far fewer than almost all the other worlds whirling around our Sun, and although it has a few dramatic features on its surface, it has no vast canyons like Mars or towering mountains like Venus. However, Mercury has its own attractions and claims to fame. Its best known –a huge multiringed impact feature called the Caloris basin – is one of the largest such features in the Solar System, and it has fascinating scarps and ridges on its heat-blasted surface.

A surprising number of stargazers and amateur astronomers have never seen Mercury. Many have not even tried to look for it, believing that it is too difficult to see because of its close proximity to the Sun. And while it’s true that most of the time Mercury is lost in the Sun’s glare, when it is best placed in the sky it is quite obvious to the naked eye – and it will be well placed this month.