CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4138
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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I was able to make a daytime observation of Mercury on August 22, 2009 (20:00 U.T.) using an 8-inch (20-cm) F/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain (286x). I was with a friend and suggested that we try hunting Mercury down in the daytime sky. There was a thin haze in the daytime sky so we thought that we may not be able to see it. We first centered his instrument (fitted with a solar filter) on the Sun then offset it by approximately two hours in right ascension (RA) and Mercury was in the field. Mercury was visible at a quarter phase (55%) and albedo features were noted over the illuminated disk.
My observation reminded me of the historic observations made by Antoniadi and Schiaparelli over the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. These classic astronomers made their observations of Mercury in the daytime as observing this planet is difficult in a darkened sky as it is never more than 28 degrees from the Sun. Schiaparelli and Antoniadi erroneously believed that the rotation period of Mercury was 88 days (instead of 58.6 days) and therefore locked in with it's revolution period. It was not until 1965 when the Arecibo radio telescope discovered the true rotation period.
A digital image produced in Photoshop CS3.
Links:
http://history.nasa.gov/SP-423/surface.htm
http://www.take27.co.uk/BAA_MV/MVMercury2.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(planet)
BE CAREFUL TO NEVER OBSERVE MERCURY IN THE DAYTIME UNLESS YOUR INSTRUMENT HAS A SOLAR FILTER PLACED UPON IT UNTIL THE PLANET IS IN THE FIELD OF VIEW!
Carlos
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Tommy5
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 1821
Loc: Chicagoland
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Wow great sketch, observing any albedo features on Mercury is very difficult even in in the daytime bravo.
Edited by Tommy5 (08/24/09 07:52 PM)
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HellsKitchen
sage
Reged: 09/05/08
Posts: 356
Loc: Melbourne Australia
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Excellent sketch! Nice job catching the surface features.
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S 38º 00' E 145º20'
Custom 12" F/4.6 dob
10" GSO dob
Intes M500 Mak
4.5" Meade Newtonian
Set of Vixen LVWs + TV barlows + powermates
Astronomik 0III, UHC, H-beta filters
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JayinUT
I'm not Sleepy
Reged: 09/19/08
Posts: 945
Loc: Utah
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Carlos,
Tremendous sketch of Mercury!   Love the details. I'm envious . . . someday a solar filter.
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Jay in Utah
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Location: Lat: 40.514N Long: -112.032W
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth.
— Ptolemy, c.150 AD
My Blog
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 4084
Loc: Illinois
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Carlos,
Wow! I mean WOW! That is one very fine Mercury sketch. It has been a while since I have observed Mercury in the day time but I have never attempted a sketch. You have captured the view perfectly. Wonderful! 
Frank 
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my gallery
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Jeff Young
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/04/05
Posts: 4115
Loc: Ireland
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Very cool!
-- Jeff.
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Nikon 18x70s / UA Millennium Colorado:
Solarscope SF70 / TV Pronto / AP400QMD Coronado SolarMax40 DS / Bogen 055+3130
APM MC1610 / Tak FC-100 / AP1200GTO Tak Mewlon 250 / AP600EGTO
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RLTYS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/18/04
Posts: 2156
Loc: New York (Long Island)
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Carlos
WOW! That is one fantastic sketch. Have you considered sending a copy to ALPO?
Rich (RLTYS)
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10" F4.8 Refl.
4" F5 Refr. (Genesis)
3" F4 Celestron FirstScope
50mm F12 Refr. (Tasco #6TE-5)
12x63 and 10x50 Binoculars.
"I want to do more then just look."
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4138
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Thank you all for your kind compliments on my Mercury observation. I have not observed Mercury in the daytime for some time now. It was fun hunting it down as it was a challenge. Observing albedo features over Mercury is not an easy feat. Clear and steady skies are a must to detect them. The best of luck in your own observations.
Rich- I always send my observations to ALPO. It is a good organization to learn about the observation of the Moon and planets.
Carlos
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 2233
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Carlos, I am super impressed at the sketch and the observation. I had not considered doing this. Really really fine observation!!
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Roland
Sketches in members galleries: rolandlinda3
Inspirational stories/sketches at:
www.christworksministries.org
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Sol Robbins
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/01/03
Posts: 1609
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Carlos,
Very impressive!
Thanks,
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S.R.
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4138
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Roland and Sol,
Thank you both for your compliments on my Mercury observation. I had not seen Mercury in the daytime sky for some time now, but I wanted to try and search for the messenger after observing the Sun. The albedo features were easier to detect than expected. The thing is to be very careful when looking for Mercury in the daytime sky as one may accidentally sweep by the Sun unfiltered! The best of luck in your own observations.
Carlos
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kraterkid
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/07/05
Posts: 4551
Loc: Jacumba, California
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Fantastic sketch of Mercury, Carlos!  A very difficult object, rendered magnificently. Thanks for the strong warnings about the use of a solar filter until you know you have acquired Mercury. How large angularly is Mercury in this phase? Beautiful sketch and excellent report! 
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Rich
My CN Gallery
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Jef De Wit
super member
Reged: 03/06/09
Posts: 124
Loc: Hove, Belgium
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A right choice as ASOD. Congratulations!
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Clear skies, Jef De Wit
7x50 bino, Meade ETX-70 & Orion Optics UK 12" Dobson
"Bright skies aren't empty skies" (James Mallaney)
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Aldebaran
super member
Reged: 09/30/06
Posts: 105
Loc: Turku, Finland
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Good work Carlos! It certainly isn't the easiest task in the world to see some details in Mercury! 
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Juha
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Instruments:
10'' Newton
3'' Lens (RFT)
7x18 Binos
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http://juhansivut.pp.fi/Deepsky (my deep sky pages)
Taivaanpallo (my amateur astronomy blog in finnish)
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 4138
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Jef, Juha, and Rich
Thank you for your kind compliments on my Mercury observation. It was fun hunting for Mercury in the daytime sky. I was impressed with the amount of detail visible over the planet. Detecting albedo features over Mercury is not an easy feat even under good seeing conditions. The best of luck in your own observations.
Carlos
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