You can use Starry Night Enthusiast™ to follow Mercury’s orbit as it nears the Sun. Press the Home and Now buttons. Open the Favourites menu and click on Guides  Atlas to place yourself at the center...

You can use Starry Night Enthusiast™ to follow Mercury’s orbit as it nears the Sun. Press the Home and Now buttons. Open the Favourites menu and click on Guides
 Atlas to place yourself at the center of a transparent Earth. Stop time advance and open the Find pane and double-click over the Sun to center upon it. In the Labels menus, click on Planets-Moons and Stars to remove these labels. Set the Time Flow Rate to 1 hour (adjust, as necessary). a) Locate Mercury by clicking the box to the left of Mercury in the Find pane. Watch Mercury’s motion against the background stars as you run time forward, and describe its motion. Pay particular attention to the relative speeds when Mercury is passing near to the Sun on east-west and west-east passes respectively. b) Stop time advance and set the Time Flow Rate to 5 sidereal days. Right-click the mouse button over Mercury and click on Center to place Mercury at the center of the view. Single-step time and follow the planet’s motion around the Sun, stopping occasionally to zoom in and determine Mercury’s phase. Describe the pattern of phase changes and relate these changes to the position of Mercury with respect to the Sun.