• The planet Mercury reaches its greatest evening elongation from the sun on June 30, at 9:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time. But no matter what time zone you're in, or where you live worldwide, the best time to start looking for Mercury is about hour or so after sunset. Look for this star-like object near the sunset point on the horizon.
• Mercury, the solar system's innermost planet, never strays far from the sun in Earth's sky. When this planet is visible, it's seen for a short while after sunset - or at other times of the year, a short while before sunrise. When Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation from the sun, Mercury appears in the western sky at dusk - or when Mer

cury reaches its greatest western elongation, it's in the eastern sky at dawn.
• Whether you live in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere, draw an imaginary line from the red planet Mars and through the star Regulus to locate Mercury near the horizon. Start your search as soon as you see Mars and Regulus popping out into your western sky at dusk.
• At northerly latitudes, the Mars-Regulus-Mercury line goes downward from left to right. As seen from the Southern Hemisphere, the line-up is perpendicular, or nearly so, to the horizon. Although Mercury is visible to the unaided eye in a clear sky, binoculars enable you to view Mercury all the sooner in the glow of evening twilight.
• If you miss Mercury, there will be a much easier target for you in the southern sky at dusk and early evening. If it's clear, it'll be hard to overlook the bright waxing

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