Perihelion and Sunset On Mercury

This is a do-it-yourself adventure – follow the directions below and you will get the result show in our YouTube video Perihelion and Sunset On Mercury. The Sun will enter from the top, slow down until it is half-set, back up, then resume going forward and set definitively.

If you don't understand how to follow these directions, start with the Stargazing Tutorial.

  1. In the planetarium, set all your settings as in the image – except label colors – you don't need to change that. The Time Rate is 43200 – for each second, half an Earth day will pass in the Planetarium.
  2. Press the Date and Time/Start Clock button.
  3. Dismiss the Control Panel, for example by pressing Dismiss.
Once you have done that, you could play with it a bit. For example, find a place from which you can watch the sun rise, back up, and resume.