The most difficult visible planet isn’t the farthest from us, it is almost always the one too close to the sun. The planet Mercury shines above the eastern skyline each morning in the week ahead.

Mercury is tough. But this weekend, Mercury will be easy. Astronomers point out that this is the best apparition of the Sun’s closest planet Mercury.

There are only two requirements for seeing this planet. Get up early in the morning well before sunrise, and the eastern sky has to be clear.

Mercury is the brightest celestial object in the east an hour before sunrise. Yes there are stars like Spica and Arcturus in the east, but not as bright as Mercury. Arcturus is more northerly and about the same height from the horizon. Spica is also nearby. Mercury is four times brighter than Spica.

If you were a fisherman, you’d say you caught a big fish. If you are an amateur astronomer, you’d say you bagged Mercury. The best showing is Monday morning, when Mercury is highest in the sky. But it will only be slightly better than what you can see any morning for the rest of the month and well into November.