On March 24th, 2020, when Mercury was far away from the sky, was it southwest?

Mercury will appear in March 2020. It may be strange to see this name, but it is not a very rare astronomical phenomenon. So let's reveal the constellation knowledge for everyone now. Mercury is in the far west. Is it southwest? What does this mean? Let's have a look!

In 2020, Mercury's western distance astronomy made its debut on March 24th. Mercury has three East and three West this year. The three distances to the west are March 24th, July 22nd,165438+1October 1 1. Among them, the distance from the sun on March 24th is the largest, reaching 27.8, which is almost the theoretical maximum. However, the observation condition is the best on July 22nd, and there is little difference between March 24th and June 24th +065438+ 10/01. On March 24th, Mercury rose from the southeast around 4:50, and the sun rose around 6:00. Because Mercury is located in the south of the celestial equator, although it has a large angle with the sun, the horizon height at sunrise is only 15, and the observable time is very limited.

Is the distance southwest? What do you mean by long distance? A large distance is the point at which the inner planet looks farthest from the sun from the earth. Seen from the earth, when Mercury or Venus is farthest from the sun, it is far from the west of the sun.

So, what is "the great distance between Mercury and the West"? According to the staff of Astronomy Studio, the English name of Mercury comes from the Roman god Mercury. In the 5th century AD, Mercury was considered as two different planets, because it often appeared alternately on both sides of the sun. What appears at night is called mercury, and what appears in the morning is called Apollo. Later, astronomers learned through observation that Mercury and Apollo were actually the same planet. In ancient China, Mercury was called "Chen Xing".

It is understood that among the five planets of the solar system, namely gold, wood, water, fire and earth, Mercury is the ugliest one, and even some astronomers have never seen it. Mercury comes and goes in a hurry, even if it shows its true colors occasionally. Because it is too close to the sun, Mercury is often lost in the sun's brilliance, and there are only a few short observable opportunities every year, so it is the most difficult planet to observe among the eight planets in the solar system. Only when the angular distance between mercury and the sun reaches the maximum, that is, the "large distance", the public is most hopeful to see mercury, and it is difficult for people on earth who are far away to observe it. Mercury is called "east distance" in the east of the sun and "west distance" in the west of the sun. In the "east distance", mercury can be found above the western horizon at dusk; During the "Western Heaven Distance", Mercury appeared at low altitude in the east at dawn.