Today Mercury will pass through inferior conjunction. The planet will reappear in the dawn during the last week of January.
There will be a lovely conjunction with Venus starting in early February with Mercury and Venus staying fairly close, less than 5° most of the month. On the morning of February 6th the pair will be joined by a crescent Moon for a lovely trio. As this occurs around maximum elongation for Mercury the conjunction will be about 25° from the Sun and well up in the dawn sky.
Mercury Events for 2016
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Date UT | Separation | Magnitude | |||
Morning | Feb 7 | 25.6°W | +0.2 | ||
Evening | Apr 18 | 19.9°E | +0.4 | ||
Morning | Jun 5 | 24.2°W | +0.7 | ||
Evening | Aug 16 | 27.4°E | +0.6 | ||
Morning | Sep 28 | 17.9°W | -0.2 | ||
Evening | Dec 11 | 20.8°E | -0.2 | ||