Mercury was at its greatest eastern elongation from the Sun, so today was literally one of the best nights this year to spot the planet. (It is usually too close to the Sun to spot.)
Having just come off off knee surgery on Wednesday, it was a tough call to make as to whether I would attend the Inwood Astronomy Project hunt for Mercury, but my decision to go for it ended up being totally worth it. My knee held up, sunset was beautiful, the company was great, skies ultra-dark (for NYC), and we spotted Mercury! I found it a couple of times with my finder scope (left the telescope itself at home - still on crutches for longer walks), and Jason had it in the eyepiece for some good spurts when the clouds were kind. Sort of looked like a tiny copper coin. Cool!
PS - Also saw Saturn and pointed out some stars/constellations.
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