02/22/2006 Mercury

Opened the dome before sunset, I was hoping to image Mercury this evening but it's quite cloudy. The clouds finally broke enough for me to get a visual look at it, but the conditions were poor enough that I did not bother trying for a picture. Mercury appeared to be about half phase, maybe slightly more. While I watched a black circular object of about the same size as Mercury (if it were fully illuminated) slowly moved through the field of view. I assume it was a satellite but the fact that it was so large implies that it was either a huge satellite or something closer than earth orbit. I suppose it will remain a mystery.