Look southwest at sunset on Nov. 12 to spot Mercury about 5° above the horizon with Mars roughly 1° to its upper right — use the three-finger/little-finger rule to estimate separations. Visibility will be brief because the planets sit low and are initially lost in the Sun’s glare; they set in under an hour after sunset. Mercury will swing to Mars’ right the next night as it performs apparent retrograde motion; Mars remains in prograde motion. Both worlds will sink toward solar conjunctions (Mercury on Nov. 20; Mars in Jan. 2026).
Catch Mercury and Mars Low in the Sunset — Close Pairing on Nov. 12
Look southwest at sunset on Nov. 12 to spot Mercury about 5° above the horizon with Mars roughly 1° to its upper right — use the three-finger/little-finger rule to estimate separations. Visibility will be brief because the planets sit low and are initially lost in the Sun’s glare; they set in under an hour after sunset. Mercury will swing to Mars’ right the next night as it performs apparent retrograde motion; Mars remains in prograde motion. Both worlds will sink toward solar conjunctions (Mercury on Nov. 20; Mars in Jan. 2026).
11:05 AM, 11/12/2025Science
Look Southwest at Sunset on Nov. 12 to See Mercury Near Mars
On the evening of Nov. 12, glance low toward the southwestern horizon at sunset for a brief chance to spot swift Mercury near the reddish glow of Mars. Mercury will sit about 5° above the horizon at sunset, with Mars roughly 1°
As a quick field guide, the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length spans about 5° across the sky, while the width of a little finger equals roughly 1°. Both planets will be challenging to see while the Sun is near the horizon; they become clearer as twilight deepens but will set in under an hour after sunset.
To maximize your chances, find an unobstructed view to the southwest and arrive a few minutes before sunset so you can watch as the planets emerge from the Sun's glare. Important safety note: because both worlds lie close to the Sun this month, do not point binoculars or a telescope anywhere near the Sun until it has fully set and is safely below the horizon.
How the Pairing Develops
By the next evening Mercury will have moved to the right of Mars and will continue shifting westward on subsequent nights. Over the past month the two planets have traced a subtle celestial dance: Mercury — the faster, inner world — moved from right to left beneath Mars and then appeared to reverse direction as it drew closer to the Sun. That apparent reversal is called retrograde motion, produced when an inner planet's orbital motion causes it to appear to travel east-to-west against the starfield. Mars, farther out, continues its apparent prograde motion, moving more slowly against the background stars.
Both planets will appear progressively lower in the evening sky in the coming weeks as they approach solar conjunctions — Mercury's occurs on Nov. 20, and Mars reaches conjunction in January 2026.
Check local sunset times on TimeandDate to plan your viewing, and be prepared to act quickly if skies are clear.
Editor’s note: If you’d like to share planetary photos with Space.com readers, email your image, brief comments, your name and shoot location to spacephotos@space.com.