Venus will leave the evening sky this week. But, another planet will take its place, the Mercury. Starting now up to the first week of April, the planet will have an overgrown version of the moon and an appearance favorable as Northern Hemisphere.

Mercury is commonly known as the elusive planet, though it is really not hard to find; it can be seen near the horizon, a bit to the north of due west. If the weather is clear, there's no problem locating it since it is a very bright star that shines with a bit of a yellowish-orange tint.

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Mercury's most favorable elongations happen during morning or evening; when the planet rises or sets in a dark sky. That condition will occur for more than a week beginning this March 27 until April 5. Mercury will set after the end of evening twilight, and about 90 minutes right after the sunset for mid-northern latitudes.

This Saturday, March 25, Mercury will be 2 degrees to the right of Uranus. The best time to observe the planet and visible with the eyes is between 8:15 PM and 8:45 PM local time. Uranus, on the other hand, needs binoculars or telescope to be able to see it.

For the evenings of the coming weeks, Mercury will decrease in brightness slowly at first. But it will also arrive at its highest elongation, 19 degrees to the east of the sun, on April 1. It will then shine at a magnitude of minus 0.2 and will appear low in the western sky.

In the evening of April 8, the brightness of Mercury will be diminished to magnitude 1.6; similar to the brightness of star Castor, in Gemini. When using a telescope, it shows a narrow crescent phase.