Great shot of Mercury

Just for those who might be interested:

"February 21, 2006: It's not every day you get to see a shrinking planet.
Today could be the day.
Step outside this evening at sunset and look west toward the glow of the
setting sun.
As the sky fades to black, a bright planet will emerge. It's Mercury, first
planet from the sun,
also known as the "Incredible Shrinking Planet."

quote from - see:

This brings me to another point:
Merc- Venus maximum distance only allows a 60 degree-aspect, along with the
conjunction.
This last one has two types: one with Merc and Venus between earth and Sun,
and one with the
Sun inbetween. Shouldn't this last be considered an opposition? How could

Chris Mitchell...

This would show up as an opposition in a heliocentric ephemeris.

you recognize this
particular constellation in the ephemeris (or am I missing something)?
Anyone experience with that?

Richard Nolle...

Probably the best ephemeris clue would be retrogrades, Bert. If Venus and
Mercury are in or near (within a week or so) of their retrogrades, then they're
on the same side of the Sun as Earth. This is what I call the 'intersolar
cycle'. (This cycle actually runs from maximum eastern elongation to maximum
western elongation, which is shown in many astronomical almanacs and programs
but not in ephemerides.) For details and an animated illustration, see this
month's forecast at:

If not in or very near to being in their retrograde phase, then Mercury and
Venus will be on the other side of the Sun from Earth - not necessarily directly
opposite (that would be a superior conjunction), but behind the plane of the
solar disk as seen from our home planet.

best regards,
Bert