*Question about Mercury, and viewing it from various view (binoculars to hubble)

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on the visibility of Mercury through various observational tools, including the naked eye, binoculars, small telescopes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Mercury appears as a faint star to the naked eye, primarily visible just before dawn due to its proximity to the sun. When viewed through a small telescope, it can be seen as a disk measuring approximately 8-10 arcseconds. The HST is not typically used for observing Mercury due to the risks of pointing it too close to the sun.

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nukeman
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Hi guys,

Im just starting to get into viewing. I have a question about Mercury though.

Can someone give me an idea of what mercury looks like from the Naked eye, binoculars, telescope, and hubble. Mainly I am trying to get what variations in colour, texture, surface details/features, are noticable with each different view.

Thanks.
 
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By eye it's basically a failry faint star, it's too small to see as planet-like and since it's always so close to the sun you can only generally see it just before dawn.

It's around 8-10" at best so should be visible as a disk in a small telescope, Probably aren't many Hubble photos because you wouldn't want to point the HST that close to the sun!
 

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