Venus & Mercury to the same apparent scale - 19th September 2021 (Niall MacNeill)

Contains: Solar system body or event

Venus & Mercury to the same apparent scale - 19th September 2021

The inner planets, Venus & Mercury, imaged the same evening 19th September 2021. Here they are shown on the same apparent scale...i.e. as they would appear in the eyepiece of a telescope.
Venus is shown in UV, where the chevron cloud pattern can be seen. I colourised the monochrome image for aesthetic purposes. It is about 2/3rds illuminated.
Some surface markings can be seen on Mercury, especially near the terminator, although the diffraction effect impacted the detail at the limb. The planet is almost 50% illuminated.
Their similar phase tells us that they are nearly opposite each other with respect to the Sun and catching us up in their orbits. Their angle to the Sun and thence to Earth is nearly a right angle. Of course Mercury is moving much faster than Venus and by early October will be at its inferior conjunction, between the Earth and the Sun. Venus won't achieve the same position until January 2022.

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Venus & Mercury to the same apparent scale - 19th September 2021

Venus & Mercury to the same apparent scale - 19th September 2021

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Venus & Mercury to the same apparent scale - 19th September 2021

Venus & Mercury to the same apparent scale - 19th September 2021

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