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Mercury One of the five planets visible to the naked eye (Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Mars). Mercury is not generally used for navigation and is therefore not in the Nautical Almanac (although it can be computed and used for navigation with the StarPilot programs). It is usually too close to the sun, so it is rarely more than a few degrees above the horizon at sunset or sunrise, and we try to avoid low sights when possible due to refraction uncertainties. The Almanac will often discuss Mercury in the planet discussion section, but usually just a warning of when it might be confused with Venus, etc.

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