Mercury at Inferior Conjunction

Today Mercury will be at inferior conjunction. After today the planet will reappear in the dawn, rising high enough from the Sun’s glow to be seen around the end of the year.

Inferior conjunction is when the planet passes between the Sun and the Earth. As such the only planets to see inferior conjunction are Mercury and Venus. A transit is possible if the planet passes directly in front of the Sun, but normally this alignment does not occur, the planet passing above or below the Sun as seen from the Earth. There are no transits of Mercury in 2017, the next will be Nov 11, 2019.

Mercury Events for 2017
		Date UT	Separation	Mag
Maximum Elongation		Jan 19	24.1°W	+0.0
Superior Conjunction		Mar 6
Maximum Elongation		Apr 1	19.0°E	+0.2
Inferior Conjunction		Apr 19
Maximum Elongation		May 17	25.8°W	+0.7
Superior Conjunction		Jun 21
Maximum Elongation		Jul 30	27.2°E	+0.6
Inferior Conjunction		Aug 26
Maximum Elongation		Sep 12	17.9°W	-0.1
Superior Conjunction		Oct 8
Maximum Elongation		Nov 24	22.0°E	-0.1
Inferior Conjunction		Dec 12
Source: NASA Sky Calendar and the Mercury Chaser’s Calculator