Today Mercury is passing through maximum elongation, the furthest it will rise above the rising Sun in the dawn sky. After today the planet will slide back into the Sun’s glare headed for superior conjunction on May 21st.
This is the best apparition of the year, morning or evening, with the planet over 27° from the Sun.
Mercury Events for 2019 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Apparition | Date | Elongation | Magnitude |
Evening | Feb 26 | 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 |
Might be hard to see thru the thunder storms