Mercury is one of the most difficult planets to observe with the naked eye without the use of telescopes, but on this day it can be seen as a small point of yellowish light just by looking at the sky, as it reaches its greatest eastern elongation of 20.1 degrees from the Sun.
This is the best time to view Mercury because it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. To see it, you have to look for it in the western sky just after sunset.
This shower is the result of dust grains left behind by Comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790. The shower occurs annually from December 17 to 25, but peaks this year on the night of December 21 and the morning of the 22nd.
Although a particularly spectacular shower that produces between 5 and 10 meteors per hour, this year's near-new Moon will leave the skies very dark, which should add to the show.
The best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but they can appear anywhere in the sky.
