Mercury will be visible before dawn on June 16, 2022, when the planet reaches its greatest western extension. (Image credit: Chris Vaughan)
Mercury will be revealed shortly before dawn tomorrow (June 16), when the planet reaches its farthest distance from the sun, as seen from Earth, also known as its largest western extension.
The elusive planet Mercury will reach a maximum angle of 23 ° west of the sun; viewers located near the equator and further south will experience the best viewing opportunities.
“Between 4:30 and 5 a.m. in your local time zone, look for a 0.45-magnitude planet that glows very low in the eastern northeast sky,” wrote geophysicist Chris Vaughn, an amateur astronomer with SkySafari Software who monitors the Night calendar. Sky on Space.com. . “It will be located with a fist diameter in the lower left corner of a much brighter Venus.”
The exact time of the event varies depending on your specific location, so you’ll want to check out a sky monitoring app like SkySafari or software like Starry Night to check for hours. Our selection of the best stargazing apps can help you with your planning.
“Don’t worry if the sky is cloudy on Thursday,” Vaughn said. “Mercury will be almost as far from the sun on the surrounding mornings.”
Related: The brightest planets in the night sky in June: How to see them (and when)
Mercury is usually a difficult planet to spot because its orbit lies closer to the sun than on Earth, and is often obscured by solar glare. The best time to explore Mercury is when the planet reaches its greatest elongation – its greatest angular distance from the sun. According to In-The-Sky.org (opens in a new section), these phenomena occur approximately every three to four months.
Mercury orbits the sun every 88 Earth days, traveling through space at almost 112,000 miles per hour (180,000 km / h), faster than any other planet. In 2019, there was a rare transit of Mercury where the planet crosses the face of the sun. This will not happen again until 2032.
If you are looking for a telescope or binoculars to see the extensions of the planets as tomorrow’s event, our guides to the best binoculars and best telescope deals can now help. Our best astrophotography cameras and the best astrophotography lenses to prepare you for the next stellar view in a photo.
Editor’s note: If you take a picture of Mercury and want to share it with Space.com readers, send your photos, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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