The two innermost planets meet in the gathering evening twilight this week. Mercury and Venus never stray too far from the sun, particularly Mercury. While there are times when Venus can be seen in a fully dark sky, Mercury never remains visible past sunset.
This makes it a challenge to find, but this week Venus gets close enough to Mercury to act as a useful signpost. The chart shows the view looking west from London at 1830 GMT on 8 March, although the view will be similar all week.
