Today Mercury is passing through superior conjunction, passing around the far side of the Sun as seen from our earthbound vantage point. This fast moving planet will reappear in the sunset in about a week, rising towards maximum elongation on June 23rd.
The June apparition will be the best of the year with the planet reaching over 25° from the Sun. The October apparition will be quite good as well at over 24°.
Mercury Events for 2019 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Apparition | Date | Elongation | Magnitude |
Evening | Feb 27 | 18.1°E | -0.2 |
Morning | Apr 11 | 27.7°W | +0.6 |
Evening | Jun 23 | 25.2°E | +0.7 |
Morning | Aug 9 | 19.0°W | +0.3 |
Evening | Oct 20 | 24.6°E | +0.1 |
Morning | Nov 28 | 20.1°W | -0.3 |
Data from the Mercury Chaser’s Calculator by John Walker |