NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Mercury in retrograde
From: Paul Hirose
Date: 2019 Mar 7, 14:18 -0800
From: Paul Hirose
Date: 2019 Mar 7, 14:18 -0800
Article on the superstitious fear of Mercury in retrograde motion: https://mentalfloss.com/article/503425/what-mercury-retrograde-and-why-do-we-blame-things-it I verified Mercury is stationary on March 5. From 0000 to 1200 there is no change in right ascension at .01° precision. (I didn't want to waste too much time on this matter, so did not attempt more precision.) Ecliptic longitude continues to increase in that period, however. It is constant from 1800 to 2400 (possibly longer — didn't investigate). This evening I will try to see Mercury, though it's only 8.6° from the Sun and its phase angle is 140° (a narrow crescent).
