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Why are Mercury and Venus visible only in the morning before sunrise or in the evening just after sunset?
The fun of observing Mercury is in the hunt, and knowing you’ve seen it. You must know when to look (within a week or so of elongation). You must know where to look (at what angle up from the setting Sun).
Why is Venus only seen before sunrise and after sunset why not in the middle of the night?
Venus has its orbit inside Earth’s. Therefore there is a maximum angular distance (called elongation) of about 48°. That means that it can set several hours after sunset (Venus as “evening star”) or rise several hours before sunrise (as “morning star”), so it can be seen at night, but not in the middle of the night.
Why is Mercury only seen so close to sunset and sunrise and only for such a short time?
Its orbit around the Sun takes 87.97 Earth days, the shortest of all the Sun’s planets. This proximity to the Sun means the planet can only be seen near the western horizon after sunset or the eastern horizon before sunrise, usually in twilight.
Why are Mercury and Venus always seen either around sunrise or sunset?
Planets Mercury and Venus which are in the direction of the sun are visible with the sun and travel with the sun. Hence you see them during sunrise or sunset (during twilight).
Why can you see Mercury at night?
Venus and Mercury are closer to the Sun than Earth, so they do generally appear near to the sun and that means are often in our sky during the day, but invisible because of the brightness of the Sun. But once the Sun sets below the horizon, Mercury and Venus can both be visible for a period of time.
Why can we see Mercury and Venus at night?
Mercury and Venus can never be seen in the middle of the night because they are closer to the Sun than the Earth. The reason being that during the night they are hidden behind the Earth. The Sun is too bright for planets, other than Venus, to be seen during the daytime.
How long is Venus visible after sunset?
That is, at maximum, Venus will be visible in the night sky for 3 hours before sunrise (as morning star) or 3 hours after sunset (as evening star). On other days, the duration in which Venus is visible at night will be less. In the sky, Venus appears close to the sun.