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April 29, 2022
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MERCURY AT NIGHT: GREATEST ELONGATION IS APRIL 29

Posted by
Editors of EarthSky

April 28, 2022
Mercury in late April 2022, Northern Hemisphere. Mercury will be near the
dipper-shaped Pleiades star cluster – aka the Seven Sisters – in mid- to late
April 2022. In addition, you’ll also notice the bright red star Aldebaran, Eye
of the Bull in the constellation Taurus. The 3 noticeable Belt stars of the
constellation Orion are nearby. Chart via John Jardine Goss.

For the Northern Hemisphere, Mercury’s best evening apparition of 2022 is now.

When to watch: Mercury will come into view after sunset in mid-April and be gone
again by mid-May. Also, greatest elongation – when Mercury will be farthest from
the sunset – is late April.
Where to look: Look in the sunset direction, as the sky is darkening.
Greatest elongation is 8 UTC on April 29, 2022.
Note: As the innermost planet, Mercury is tied to the sun in our sky. As a
result, it never ventures very far above the horizon after sunset. As soon as
the sun disappears below your horizon, the clock starts ticking. So, will you
see the glowing point of light that is Mercury before it follows the setting
sun?

AT GREATEST ELONGATION IN APRIL 2022:

– Mercury’s distance from sun on the sky’s dome is 21 degrees.
– Mercury shines at magnitude 0.3
– Through a telescope, Mercury appears 36% illuminated, in a waxing crescent
phase, 8 arcseconds across.

FOR PRECISE SUN AND MERCURY RISING TIMES AT YOUR LOCATION:

Old Farmer’s Almanac (U.S. and Canada)
Timeanddate.com (worldwide).
Stellarium (online planetarium program)

MERCURY EVENTS IN 2022 AND 2023

Jul 16, 2022: Superior conjunction (passes behind sun as seen from Earth)
Aug 27, 2022: Greatest elongation (evening)
Sep 23, 2022: Inferior conjunction (races between Earth and sun)
Oct 8, 2022: Greatest elongation (morning)
Nov 8, 2022: Superior conjunction (passes behind sun as seen from Earth)
Dec 21, 2022: Greatest elongation (evening)
Jan 7, 2023: Inferior conjunction (races between Earth and sun)
Jan 30, 2023: Greatest elongation (morning)
Mar 17, 2023: Superior conjunction (passes behind sun from Earth)
Apr 11, 2023: Greatest elongation (evening)

HELIOCENTRIC VIEW OF MERCURY APRIL 2022

View larger. | Heliocentric view of solar system in April 2022. Notice the sun,
Earth and Mercury. As viewed from Earth, Mercury is now located to one side of
the sun, in our evening sky. Chart via Guy Ottewell.

A COMPARISON OF ELONGATIONS

Not all of Mercury’s greatest elongations are created equal. Indeed, some are
greater than others. Ultimately, the farthest from the sun that Mercury can ever
appear on the sky’s dome is about 28 degrees. The least distance, comparatively,
is around 18 degrees.

Also, elongations are better or worse depending on the time of year they occur.

In the autumn for either hemisphere, the ecliptic – or path of the sun, moon and
planets – makes a narrow angle to the horizon in the evening. But it makes a
steep slant, nearly perpendicular, in the morning. So, in autumn from either
hemisphere, morning elongations of Mercury are best. Then, Mercury appears
higher above the horizon and farther from the glow of the sun. Evening
elongations in autumn are harder to see, however.

But, In the spring for either hemisphere, the situation reverses. The ecliptic
and horizon meet at a sharper angle on spring evenings and a narrower angle on
spring mornings. So, in springtime for either hemisphere, evening elongations of
Mercury are best. Meanwhile, morning elongations in springtime are harder to
see.

View larger. | Mercury elongations compared. Gray areas represent evening
apparitions (eastward elongation). Blue areas represent morning apparitions
(westward elongation). The top figures are the maximum elongations, reached at
the top dates shown beneath. Curves show the altitude of the planet above the
horizon at sunrise or sunset, for latitude 40 degrees north (thick line) and 35
degrees south (thin). Maxima are reached at the parenthesized dates below (40
degrees north bold). Chart via Guy Ottewell’s 2022 Astronomical Calendar.

PHOTOS FROM OUR COMMUNITY

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada, took this image on April 23, 2022. Joel wrote: “While the early morning
planetary alignment garners attention, lonely little Mercury is making an
appearance in our evening skies. Despite being elusive, it was easy to see
without optical aid once sighted. Mercury will remain a pleasant addition to our
evening skies as it reaches its greatest eastern elongation on April 29.” Thank
you, Joel! View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Chix RC captured this image on
January 3, 2022, from Hermosa Beach, California. See Mercury to the upper right
of the crescent? Chix wrote: “A faint young moon at 1% illumination and
Mercury.” Thank you, Chix! Peter Lowenstein of Mutare, Zimbabwe caught Mercury
and Mars in the evening twilight on August 18, 2021. Thank you, Peter! View at
EarthSky Community Photos. | Alexander Krivenyshev of the website
WorldTimeZone.com captured this photo of the moon together with Mercury and
Venus on May 13, 2021, from Newport, Rhode Island. Thank you, Alexander!

Submit your photos to EarthSky here.

SOME RESOURCES TO ENJOY

Read about greatest elongations, superior and inferior conjunctions: Definitions
for stargazers

See the moon phase for every day in 2022. EarthSky lunar calendars now
available! Going fast!

Bottom line: You can currently spot Mercury during its best evening apparition
of 2022. The planet reaches greatest elongation on April 29 at 8 UTC.

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April 28, 2022
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EDITORS OF EARTHSKY

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