Mercury & Mars Right Now

[Gregg1956]

Those who live in the mid-northern latitudes (like anywhere in the continental U.S.) will be able to see Mercury and Mars right after sunset, before it gets fully dark. Over the next few days they will get closer to each other.

You'll need an unobstructed view of the western horizon. If you have binoculars you can easily spot them both while it's still fairly light in the sky. As it gets darker they'll both be visible to the naked eye.

Tonight they will look like this:

On Feb. 7th and 8th they will be very close to each other and then will move apart again.

Lower magnifications give you a wider field of view with a telescope. If I use my 20mm eyepiece, giving me a 35x magnification, I'll be able to see Mars and Mercury at the same time on Feb. 7th. (If I use my 10mm which gives me  70x, the FOV will be too narrow to see both at the same time.)

That's what's happening in the night sky now.

Images from Stellarium.