Starwatch: Mercury to reach farthest point from the sun

Morning sky offers rare opportunity for a glimpse at solar system’s innermost world This week offers one of the better opportunities of the year to catch a glimpse of the solar system’s innermost world. Trapped in its small orbit, Mercury never strays far from the sun, meaning it is usually lost to the light of dawn or dusk. On Sunday, however, the planet reached its greatest western elongation, meaning it appeared at its greatest apparent distance from the sun in the morning sky. The next few…