Mercury Sightings - Details for 2024

Mercury has seven elongations in 2024. The initial sighting by Joe Stieber for each of these is tabulated below:

Elongation #6

● The first sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 (the 88th elongation in a row overall) was on October 27, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a clear sky, even along the western horizon. Mercury was spotted at 6:21 pm EDT with a 25x88 spotting scope. It was dim against relatively bright twilight 18 minutes after sunset at 6:03 pm. It was subsequently seen with 12x50  binoculars at 6:24 pm, and followed into the distant tree tops at 6:26 pm with the scope. It was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 3°13′ altitude, 241° azimuth, magnitude -0.33, 5.1″ diameter and 89% illuminated. Solar elongation was 16.7°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 30° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -1.6°. Venus was sighted at 6:05 pm with unaided eyes.

After leaving Bishops Gate, I went to Carranza Field in Wharton State Forest, NJ, and saw comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) with 8x42 and 15x56 binoculars. Saturn was visible with unaided eyes, Neptune with the 15x56s and Uranus with the 8x42s (the 9.1° FOV included Uranus and the Pleiades simultaneously). Later, back at home in Maple Shade, NJ, I stepped out front at 1:00 am on Oct 28 and saw Jupiter and Mars with unaided eyes (Mars had a distinct reddish hue). So, all seven non-earth planets were seen overnight October 27-28.

● The second sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 was on November 1, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a clear sky, even along the western horizon. Mercury was spotted at 6:25 pm EDT with a 25x88 spotting scope. It was dim against relatively bright twilight 28 minutes after sunset at 5:57 pm. It was followed with the scope into the distant tree tops until 6:28 pm. It was not seen with unaided eyes. I was running a bit late, so I was lucky to get there in time to see it for three minutes! When initially sighted, Mercury was at 2°39′ altitude, 238° azimuth, magnitude -0.29, 5.4″ diameter and 84% illuminated. Solar elongation was 19.3°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 33° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.2°. Venus was sighted with unaided eyes on arrival at 6:23 pm, then used for focusing the scope before looking for Mercury. I found Antares at 6:31 pm with 25x88, to be sure it wasn't being confused with Mercury as cautioned by S&T's "This Week's Sky at a Glance" for November 1 to 10. Then I found the dim patch of comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) with 25x88 at 6:38 pm. By 6:48 pm, it wasn't too hard to see and even had about a third-of-a-degree tail. Right after, I had a similar view with12x50 binoculars.

After leaving Bishops Gate, I went to the WAS meeting in nearby Moorestown, but afterwards, I was back to the field about 9:45 pm for another half hour of observing. I attached the 1.6x extender to the 88 mm spotting scope, providing magnification up to 96x, which I used on Saturn (the rings are nearly a line now, but it looked like there were small grayish patches near the ball, so the ansae were almost visible), Neptune (a tiny borderline disc with a bluish color), Uranus (a tiny greenish-blue disc) and Jupiter, which was still low, so seeing was not that good. I believe I vaguely saw the Great Red Spot, just east of the central meridian, and at best, an intermittent black speck of Io's shadow towards the western limb. I did find that although SkySafari on my iPhone gets the GRS/satellite timings right on the data page for Jupiter, the positions on the respective planetary image is wrong; the GRS, Io and it's shadow were well west of where they should have been. The data is the same with SkySafari on my iPad, but the iPad shows the disc correctly (using WinJUPOS later on my laptop as the ultimate reference). Go figure.

Back at home in Maple Shade, NJ, I realized a little after 1 am that I could add Mars to my planetary list, so I went out front and took a look with the spotting scope at 60x (I had taken the extender off before I left the field). About 1:30 am on November 2, Mars was clearly a ruddy color and it had a bit of an oval shape, but no surface detail was seen. So, all seven non-earth planets were seen overnight November 1-2, 2024, in each case with the 88 mm spotting scope.

● The third sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 was on November 3, 2024, from the observing platform at Thompson's Beach, NJ, on the north shore of the Delaware Bay, under a very clear sky, except for thin, streaky clouds along the southwestern horizon. Sunset was at 4:56 pm. Mercury was spotted at 5:20 pm EST with 12x50 binoculars then at 5:22 with a 25x88 spotting scope. Magnification was increased to 60x, revealing a small disc. Mercury was followed with the 25x88 scope until it disappeared into the distant trees at 5:43 pm, two minutes before it set at 5:45 pm. It was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 3°48′ altitude, 237° azimuth, magnitude -0.28, 5.4″ diameter and 83% illuminated. Solar elongation was 19.7°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 33° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.2°.

In addition to Mercury, the the 5.3% crescent Moon was seen (along with the star Antares in the same 5.3° FOV of the 12x50s) and the planets Venus, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus were spotted at Thompson's Beach. The asteroid (1) Ceres was also found with the 88 mm scope, as was comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). The latter displayed a 1.3° tail after the end of twilight. Later, back at home in Maple Shade, NJ, Jupiter and Mars were seen through the bedroom window at 11:19 pm. So, all seven non-earth planets were seen on the evening of November 3, 2024, as well as an asteroid and a comet. The setting Sun was also seen on the way down Thompson's Beach Rd, to round out the variety of solar system objects.

● The fourth sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 was on November 9, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ. The sky was very clear, except for streaky clouds along the southwestern horizon. Sunset was at 4:48 pm. Mercury was spotted at 5:10 pm EST with a 35x115 binocular spotting scope, then at 5:12 pm with 15x56 binoculars. Antares, 2° below-left of Mercury, was not found (the higher tree line at this azimuth, plus streaky clouds there, interfered). Mercury was followed with the scope until it disappeared into the clouds just above the distant trees. It was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 5°14′ altitude, 232° azimuth, magnitude -0.29, 5.9″ diameter and 76% illuminated. Solar elongation was 21.6°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 33.4° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.6°.

● The fifth sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 was on November 11, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, along Walton Rd. The sky was very clear, even along the southwestern horizon. Sunset was at 4:46 pm. Mercury was spotted at 5:06 pm EST with with 15x56 binoculars, and was followed with the 15x56s until it reached the distant treetops at 5:35 pm towards the antenna at the NJDOT yard. It was possibly glimpsed with unaided eyes around 5:30 pm. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 5°55′ altitude, 231° azimuth, magnitude -0.29, 6.1″ diameter and 73% illuminated. Solar elongation was 22.1°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 33.6° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.6°.

● The sixth sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 was on November 12, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, along Walton Rd. The sky was very clear, even along the southwestern horizon. Sunset was at 4:45 pm. Mercury was spotted at 5:04 pm EST with with 15x56 binoculars, and was followed with the 15x56s until 5:15 pm, then I left for Carranza to observe comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS). Mercury was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, it was at 6°15′ altitude, 230° azimuth, magnitude -0.29, 6.2″ diameter and 71% illuminated. Solar elongation was 22.3°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 33.9° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.7°.

● The seventh sighting of the sixth elongation for 2024 was on November 16, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, along Walton Rd. The sky was very clear, even along the southwestern horizon. Sunset was at 4:42 pm. Mercury was spotted at 5:04 pm EST with with 15x56 binoculars, supported by a monopod, and was followed with the 15x56s until 5:21 pm. Perhaps it was the monopod and/or the clear sky conditions, but Mercury looked its brightest to me so far for this apparition, but was still not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 6°17′ altitude, 230° azimuth, magnitude -0.27, 6.3″ diameter and 64% illuminated. Solar elongation was 22.5°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 35.5° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.7°. Mercury was followed with the 15x56s until 5:21 pm when I left for for Carranza to observe comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which was spotted with my 35x115 binocular spotting scope at 6:15 pm, although it was dim, in part because the 98% illuminated Moon was behind me at 11° altitude.

Brilliant Venus was sighted with unaided eyes immediately on arrival at Bishops Gate about 5 pm, then again on arrival at Carranza shortly after 6 pm. Saturn was spotted with unaided eyes too, and star hopping from it with the 15x56s, I spotted Neptune. Then I went to the opposite (west side) of the filed and bright Jupiter was obvious with unaided eyes. With the bright Moon in the east, I needed the binoculars to find the Pleiades, and a quick hop from them led to Uranus. It hadn't risen yet, so back home from the front yard, I spotted bright, ruddy Mars shortly after 10 pm with unaided eyes. So, all seven non-earth planets were seen on the evening of November 16, 2024.

Elongation #5

● The first sighting of the fifth elongation for 2024 (the 87th elongation in a row overall) was on September 3, 2024, from the Swede Run Green Acres site in Moorestown, NJ, under a clear sky, even along the eastern horizon. Mercury was easily spotted at 5:19 am EDT with unaided eyes through the car's windshield as I parked, and afterwards, I looked with 12x50 binoculars and confirmed it's position almost directly below Castor. Moving westward, Mars was bright with unaided eyes, and the Red Planet resembled the nearby red giant stars, Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. Jupiter was the brightest object then in the sky and next was Uranus, easily seen with the 12x50s. Saturn was visible with unaided eyes low in the west, and star hopping from there with the 12x50s, I spotted Neptune, but just barely, so I confirmed it with 15x56 binoculars. I saw Venus with 12x50s, then unaided eyes, at 7:29 pm (sunset) on Sept 2, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ. A little later, it was bright with unaided eyes as seen while driving down Rt 206 on the way to Batsto (Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars were also observed at Batsto, and through a companion's 12.5 inch scope, Neptune and Uranus exhibited tiny discs and some bluish color. In any case, all seven non-earth planets were seen overnight Sept 2-3.

When initially sighted, Mercury was at 2°59′ altitude, 75° azimuth, magnitude +0.1, 7.6″ diameter and 38% illuminated. Solar elongation was 17.9°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 69° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -0.4°. Astronomical twilight began at 4:55 am and sunrise would be at 6:30 am.

● The second sighting of the fifth elongation for 2024 was on September 8, 2024, from the parking lot at Thompson's Beach, NJ, on the north shore of the Delaware Bay, under a very clear sky, even along the eastern horizon. Mercury was spotted at 5:11 am EDT with 15x56 binoculars, then unaided eyes at 5:12 am. At 5:19 am, using 8x42 binoculars, magnitude +1.4 Regulus (Alpha Leonis) was spotted 1.4° below Mercury at 0.6° altitude. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 0°33′ altitude, 74° azimuth, magnitude -0.65, 6.6″ diameter and 60% illuminated. Solar elongation was 17.5°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 70° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +0.8°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:03 am and sunrise would be at 6:36 am. After leaving Thompson's Beach, I turned east onto Glade Rd where there is also a vast marsh. In brightening twilight about 5:45 am, Mercury was seen over the distant trees through the windshield with unaided eyes.

While waiting for Mercury to rise, I spotted the other available planets. Moving westward along the ecliptic, Mars was was bright, just under a degree WSW of M35 (which with effort, was also seen with unaided eyes). Very bright Jupiter was next, and then Uranus, easily seen with 8x42 binoculars, and with concentration, unaided eyes. Neptune was easily seen with the 8x42s and Saturn was visible with unaided eyes, but getting a little dim as it was sinking low in the west. On the evening of Sept 8, I went to Batsto for observing. Along the way, I stopped on Columbia Rd near the Hammonton airport and spotted Venus with unaided eyes, so all seven non-earth planets were seen on calendar day Sept 8.

● The third sighting of the fifth elongation for 2024 was on September 11, 2024, from Swede Run in Moorestown, NJ, under a clear sky, except for some streaky clouds along the eastern horizon and ground fog over the field there. Mercury was initially sighted at 5:35 am EDT on the viewing screen of my camera, and immediately afterwards, with 12x50 binoculars. It was first seen with unaided eyes at 5:46 am. In the binoculars, magnitude +1.4 Regulus (Alpha Leonis) was visible 3.1° from Mercury at the one o'clock position. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 3.9° altitude, 78° azimuth, magnitude -0.92, 6.1″ diameter and 72% illuminated. Solar elongation was 16.0°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 71° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.3°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:05 am and sunrise would be at 6:37 am.

While waiting for Mercury to rise, I spotted the other available planets. Moving westward along the ecliptic, there was bright Mars, very bright Jupiter and then easy binocular object Uranus. Farther west, Neptune was not so easily seen with the 12x50s in the suburban/twilight sky (in addition to the Philadelphia light dome in that direction), but Saturn was still visible with unaided eyes. Having spotted Venus with unaided eyes from Maple Shade, NJ, during the prior evening's twilight, I saw all seven non-earth planets overnight Sept 10-11.

The picture below, showing Mercury and Regulus in a lightly foggy sky on the morning of Sept 11, was taken at 5:38 am with a Canon EOS RP DSLM camera and a Canon 200 mm f/2.8L telephoto lens on a fixed tripod. It was slightly post-adjusted, but not cropped, for a field 10.3° wide x 6.9° high. Mouseover for labels.

● The fourth sighting of the fifth elongation for 2024 was on September 15, 2024, from Thompson's Beach, NJ, on the North Shore of the Delaware Bay. Overhead, the sky was relatively clear (glimpsed Uranus with unaided eyes), but there were clouds along the eastern horizon and it was murky above that. Mercury was initially sighted at 5:46 am EDT with 12x50 binoculars, later with unaided eyes from nearby Glade Rd through the car's windshield. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 1.9° altitude, 79° azimuth, magnitude -1.14, 5.6″ diameter and 84% illuminated. Solar elongation was 13.4°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 73° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.7°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:11 am and sunrise would be at 6:42 am.

On the evening of Sept 14, I spotted Venus with unaided eyes just outside Brio restaurant on Rt 73 in Evesham, NJ. Before leaving for Thompson's Beach around 3:20 am on Sept 15, from my suburban front yard in Maple Shade, to the east I saw bright Mars and very bright Jupiter with unaided eyes, then Uranus with 12x50 binoculars. Crossing the street for a westward view, I saw Saturn with unaided eyes, but could not see Neptune with 15x56 binoculars. On arrival at Thompson's Beach 4:35 am, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were easily seen with unaided eyes, while both Uranus and Neptune were easy with 12x50 binoculars, plus Uranus was glimpsed several times with unaided eyes. Finally, Mercury was spotted at 5:46 am with 12x50 binoculars, then at 6:04 am on Glade Rd, I saw it with unaided eyes through the car's windshield.  So, I saw all seven non-earth planets overnight Sept 14-15. However. the primary objective of the trip, trying to spot comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas), was precluded by clouds along the eastern horizon.

● The fifth sighting of the fifth elongation for 2024 was on September 20, 2024, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ. Overhead, the sky was generally clear with a 92% Moon at 40° altitude in the WSW. Along the eastern horizon, there were some streaky clouds and a bit of haze. My primary goal was to spot comet  C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-Atlas) [this is a new link], which was about 16.5° to the right of Mercury and about a degree higher. Recent estimates from Australia, where it is better positioned, put this comet at magnitude 4.2, which would be relatively bright higher in a dark sky, but a considerable challenge low in brightish twilight. Using my 88 mm spotting scope and Mercury as a starting point, I could not see the comet.

Mercury itself was initially sighted at 6:06 am EDT with the 88 mm scope at 25x, then with 15x56 binoculars at 6:09 am and unaided eyes at 6:19 am. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 1.2° altitude, 83° azimuth, magnitude -1.32, 5.2″ diameter and 94% illuminated. Solar elongation was 9.1°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 73° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.8°, as a result, it was almost directly above the Sun. I did not notice Sigma Leonis, magnitude 4.1, 8.5 arc minutes right of Mercury at 25x88. Astronomical twilight began at 5:15 am and sunrise would be at 6:46 am.

Elongation #4

● The first sighting of the fourth elongation for 2024 (the 86th elongation in a row overall) was on June 24, 2024, from the observation deck parking lot at Thompson's Beach, NJ, under a largely clear sky, although there was some murkiness along the northwestern horizon, which provided a beautiful orange sunset at 8:30 pm EDT. Mercury was spotted at 8:43 pm with an 88 mm spotting scope at 25x, then at 8:50 pm with 15x56 binoculars. I followed with the 88 mm scope into the distant trees, where it was lost at 9:23 pm (0.5° altitude, 3 minutes before it set). It was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 6°22′ altitude, 297° azimuth, magnitude –1.06, 5.3″ diameter and 89% illuminated. Solar elongation was 12.9°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 43° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.9°.

Before that, at 8:29 pm, Venus was spotted with the 15x56s at 4° altitude, 26 minutes before it set. That was my first sighting of Venus since its superior conjunction on June 4, 2024. It was subsequently seen with the 15x56s, but not unaided eyes. Later, comet 13P/Olbers was spotted at 10:06 pm with the 88 mm scope, showing a vague tail in the largely vertical direction. There was a splendid Moon rise, orange in color through broken clouds at 11:09 pm. By then, the rising tide was beginning to flood the parking lot and we vacated.

After arriving home and having a late dinner, I headed to Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, arriving about 3:30 am EDT on June 25 (astronomical twilight would begin at 3:29 am). Using the 88 mm scope (plus unaided eyes and 12x50 binoculars to supplement), I spotted the asteroid (or dwarf planet if you prefer) (1) Ceres at 3:39 am, Saturn at 3:40 am (the rings looked rod-like, Titan was on its east side), Neptune at 3:42 am, Mars at 3:44 am, Uranus at 3:50 am, and finally, Jupiter at 4:05 am (the disc was woozy and orangey at the low altitude). I could make out two Jovian satellites to the east and one to the right. Ganymede was farthest east, Io & Europa were close together (so they looked like a single do) nearer to Jupiter and Callisto was well west of the Jovian disc. No equatorial belts were seen in the poor, low-altitude seeing. Now high in the sky, the waning gibbous Moon, about 87% illuminated, provided a fine view in the 88 mm at 60x. So, all seven non-earth planets were seen overnight, plus the Sun, the Moon, a comet, an asteroid and some planetary satellites. It was also the first sightings of Venus, Mercury, Uranus and Jupiter for their current apparitions.

● The second sighting of the fourth elongation for 2024 was on June 27, 2024, from the observation deck parking lot at Thompson's Beach, NJ, under a largely clear sky, except for a several-degree high cloud bank alnong the west to north horizon. Mercury was spotted at 8:39 pm with an 115 mm spotting scope at 35x, then at 8:42 pm EDT with 15x56 binoculars. Around 9:10 pm, I was able to glimpse it just above the cloud line, which it subsequently sunk behind. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 9°25′ altitude, 293° azimuth, magnitude –0.80, 5.5″ diameter and 84% illuminated. Solar elongation was 15.1°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 42° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.9°.

Venus was spotted at 8:27 pm (3 minutes before sunset at 8:30 pm) with 15x56 binoculars. At 9:45 pm (45 minutes before the end of twilight at 10:30 pm), comet 13P/Olbers was spotted with the 35x115 mm scope, showing a faint, but distinct tail extending vertically from the coma. It was then seen with 15x56 binoculars. At 10:45 pm, the recurrent nova T CrB was observed with the 35x115 scope, and my non-expert visual magnitude estimate for it remained at 10.2. The asteroid (2) Pallas, discovered by Olbers too, was spotted with the 115 mm scope about 35 arc minutes southwest of T CrB.

● The third sighting of the fourth elongation for 2024 was on July 1, 2024, from the observation deck parking lot at Thompson's Beach, NJ, under a somewhat cloudy sky, but there was a relatively clear gap to the horizon below a cloud bank to the west-northwest. Mercury was spotted at 9:13 pm EDT with 12x50 binoculars after it descended from the cloud bank, then subsequently with a 115 mm spotting scope at 35x. With the 12x50s, Pollux and Castor could be seen to its right. By 9:30 pm, Mercury was unambiguously visible with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 5°30′ altitude, 294° azimuth, magnitude –0.43, 5.8″ diameter and 75% illuminated. Solar elongation was 19.3°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 37° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.8°.

Venus was spotted at 8:29 pm (a minute before sunset at 8:30 pm) with 12x50 binoculars. At 9:50 pm (39 minutes before the end of twilight at 10:29 pm), comet 13P/Olbers was spotted with the 12x50s through gaps in the clouds. With the 35x115 mm scope, a faint, but distinct tail was seen extending vertically from the coma. Stopping at Atsion on the way home, under an entirely clear sky with obvious Milky Way running from the Summer Triangle down to Sagittarius, the recurrent nova T CrB was not visible with the 12x50s between 12:30 and 12:45 am on July 2, so it must have been dimmer than magnitude 9. The asteroid, or dwarf planet, (1) Ceres was spotted with the 12x50s at 12:45 am.

● The fourth sighting of the fourth elongation for 2024 was on July 6, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a largely clear sky, but with streaky clouds and some haze along the western horizon. The cloudiness increased as the evening progressed. Mercury was first spotted at 8:58 pm EDT with 12x50 binoculars (26 minutes after sunset at 8:32 pm), then subsequently viewed with a 115 mm spotting scope at 35x. It was first sighted with unaided eyes at 9:09 pm, but it never became easy to see. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 9°17′ altitude, 288° azimuth, magnitude –0.20, 6.1″ diameter and 68% illuminated. Solar elongation was 22.1°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 37° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.4°.

Venus was spotted with the 12x50s at 8:44 pm when it was at 3.7° altitude and a few minutes before it reached the tree tops in that direction (the tree line bulges up a bit that way). Luckily, I didn't arrive any later than I did. Moving 4½° up from Venus, I found the delicately thin crescent Moon, at 8:54 pm. It was 1.3% illuminated and 25 hr 48 min old (since new Moon at 6:57 pm on July 5). It was seen with unaided eyes at 8:56 pm. Comet 13P/Olbers was spotted with the 35x115 scope . With the 35x115 mm scope at 9:37 pm, a faint patch of haze with a central condensation and a vague vertical tail, but the visibility fluctuated as increasing cloudiness moved in. The recurrent nova T CrB was not visible around 9:30 pm when Corona Borealis was examined with the 12x50s (all of the stars in the semi-circular stick figure were readily apparent in the hazy, mid-twilight sky).

● The fifth sighting of the fourth elongation for 2024 was on July 7, 2024, from Collins Lane Park in Maple Shade, NJ, under a patchy clear sky. Mercury was spotted with 12x50 binoculars at 9:08 pm, 37 minutes after sunset at 8:31 pm. Mercury was about 2.8° below the obvious 2.1-day-old crescent Moon when it finally broke out of a cloud bank below the Moon. I was too late to look for Venus as the tree line is higher at Collins Lane and I was unsuccessful at spotting comet 13P/Olbers with my 88 mm spotting scope, 25 to 60x (there was just too much light pollution coupled with a gauze of haze remaining in the northwest for the small scope to overcome). A look at Corona Borealis with the 12x50s around 9:30 pm was negative for the recurrent nova T CrB. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 7°35′ altitude, 289° azimuth, magnitude –0.14, 6.2″ diameter and 67% illuminated. Solar elongation was 22.1°, the ecliptic had a tilt of 36° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.3°.

Elongation #3

● The first sighting of the third elongation for 2024 (the 85th elongation in a row overall) was on May 11, 2024, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a clear sky, even along the eastern horizon. Mercury was spotted at 5:02 am EDT with an 88 mm spotting scope at 25x, then at 5:04 am with 15x56 binoculars. It was not seen with unaided eyes. Saturn and Mars were spotted with unaided eyes upon arrival at about 4:50 am, but I was unable to spot Venus with 15x56 binoculars before the Sun's upper limb emerged from behind a distant rooftop at 5:56 am (Venus' solar elongation was 6.5°). When initially sighted, Mercury was at 1°39′ altitude, 82° azimuth, magnitude +0.44, 7.9″ diameter and 44% illuminated. Solar elongation was 26.3°, the ecliptic had a shallow tilt of 29° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -3.2°. Astronomical twilight began at 3:59 am and sunrise was at 5:48 am.

● The second sighting of the third elongation for 2024 was on May 22, 2024, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a clear sky, but with streaky horizontal clouds above and along the eastern horizon. Mercury was spotted at 4:50 am EDT with an 88 mm spotting scope at 25x. It was not seen with unaided eyes or binoculars as I was fiddling around with my compass trying to verify the azimuth (it was reading about 6° too far northward), and by time I got back to looking, Mercury had risen into the clouds and was not seen again. I ultimately verified the azimuth on cloudy May 23 by leaving the car three or fours lengths back on the entrance path and rotating the iPhone before taking a reading. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 1°01′ altitude, 75° azimuth, magnitude -0.14, 6.5″ diameter and 63% illuminated. Solar elongation was 22.7°, the ecliptic had a shallow tilt of 31° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.72°. Astronomical twilight began at 3:44 am and sunrise was at 5:38 am.

Before spotting Mercury at Marter Ave, I was able to see Saturn with unaided eyes upon arrival at about 3:50 am. Later, at 60x88, Saturn's rings looked like a pencil spearing the ball, there were no ansae evident (perhaps a larger scope with higher magnification would show something). The rings will be edge-on in the spring of 2025. (1) Ceres was spotted at 4:01 am w/25x88, Neptune at 4:13 am w/40x88 and Mars at 4:15 am with unaided eyes. There was a bright, magnitude -1.4, Tiangong (Chinese Space Station) pass peaking about 4:39 am in the SSE, 39° altitude. I did not attempt to find Uranus as this relatively dim planet was buried in bright twilight at 8° solar elongation.

Later that day, under a deep blue sky at the parking lot of the Maple Shade, NJ, football field on Collins Lane, I was unable to spot Venus at 12:01 pm w/25x88, using one of the lot's light fixtures to block the Sun. Venus was about 3.6° west of the Sun (center-to-center, approximately 0.3° less from the solar limb). Venus presented a bright, silvery-white disc; it's relatively stationary position being in sharp contrast to the numerous pappi (wind-borne seeds) rapidly flying across the field of view (they stand out near the Sun due to forward scattering). Then at 12:06 pm, I was able to see the faint, ghostly disc of Jupiter about 2.9° east of the Sun (roughly 0.6° east of Venus; the three objects were not in an exactly straight line). Given that Venus was magnitude -3.9 vs. -2.0 for Jupiter (5.8x brighter) and 9.7" apparent diameter vs. 33" for Jupiter (3.4x smaller, or 11.6x less area), I figure the surface brightness of Venus was roughly 67x greater than Jupiter's. The Spaceweather Photo Gallery has an observation report and pictures from Rome, Italy, of the planetary pair on May 23. In the first picture, Jupiter's ghostly disc is a good resemblance of what I saw, but Venus is not quite as sublime as it was in my visual view.

Jupiter was in conjunction with the Sun on May 18, 2024 (just four days before this sighting), and Venus will reach superior conjunction at 11:35 am EDT on June 4, 2024. However, Venus will be occulted by the Sun from about 2 pm on June 3 until 11 am on June 5, which will be unobservable events, although it remains to be seen how close to the Sun I can spot Venus. I've seen Venus on the day of the last three conjunctions: January 8, 2022, inferior, 4.85°N; October 22, 2022, superior, 1.05°N; August 13, 2023, inferior, 7.69°S. On May 23, 2024, Venus and Jupiter will be in conjunction (geocentric right ascension) at 06 hr EDT. Their appulse (closest  approach, nominally the same ecliptic longitude) will be at 04 hr EDT. In both cases, they'll be about 12 arc minutes apart; unfortunately, an overcast sky until late in the day on May 23 precluded observation.

● The third sighting of the third elongation for 2024 was on May 28, 2024, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ. Despite heavy dew from rain that night, the sky was quite clear with just a few thin clouds along the eastern horizon. After tentatively spotting Mercury with 12x50 binoculars above one the distant buildings (so it was just a bit more than  1° altitude), I had a firm sighting at 4:59 am EDT with an 88 mm spotting scope at 25x and followed it until 5:07 am. When sighted at 4:59 am, Mercury was at 2°20′ altitude, 71° azimuth, magnitude -0.53, 5.9″ diameter and 74% illuminated. Solar elongation was 18.7°, the ecliptic had a shallow tilt of 33.6° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.0°. Astronomical twilight began at 3:38 am and sunrise was at 5:35 am.

Before spotting Mercury, I was able to see Saturn with unaided eyes upon arrival at about 4:09 am. Then at 4:13 am, using 60x88, Saturn's rings looked like a pencil spearing the ball. The seeing was pretty good and perhaps there was a hint of the ansae. Star hopping from Saturn with 25x88, Neptune was located, then confirmed against field stars with 60x at 4:15 am. Mars was picked up with the 12x50s at 4:16 am, then the small, ruddy disc was seen at 60x88. (1) Ceres, in Sagittarius, was confirmed at 4:18 am w/60x88.

Elongation #2

● The first sighting of the second elongation for 2024 (the 84th elongation in a row overall) was on March 10, 2024, from Thompson's Beach, NJ, on the north shore of the Delaware Bay under a mixed sky that was building clouds along the horizon to the west. Ultimately there was a brief rain shower, followed by some clearing  in which I saw comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with 12x50 & 15x56 binoculars (including a vague tail). Mercury was spotted at 7:21 pm EDT with 15x56 binoculars through a clearing in ragged clouds above a solid bank of clouds along the horizon. I was hoping to catch a nominal 14 hour old Moon 3° below Mercury, but alas, the clouds dictated otherwise. Mercury was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, it was at 5°56′ altitude, 266° azimuth, magnitude -1.34, 5.4″ diameter and 91% illuminated. Solar elongation was 10.7° and the ecliptic was steeply tilted at a 74° angle to the horizon. Sunset was at 7:02 pm EDT, astronomical twilight ended at 8:31 pm.

● The second sighting of the first elongation for 2024 was on March 11, 2024, from Wharton State Forest, NJ, a under clear sky, with just some thin haze along the western horizon. Mercury was first spotted at 7:09 pm EDT with an 88 mm spotting scope at 25x (a tiny disc was apparent at 60x), then at 7:11 pm with 15x56 binoculars. At 7:23 pm, it was glimpsed with unaided eyes and by time it reached the tree tops, it was visible steadily with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 10°07′ altitude, 264° azimuth, magnitude -1.25, 5.6″ diameter and 87% illuminated. Solar elongation was 12.4°. Mercury's ecliptic latitude was 0° and the ecliptic was tilted 73° to the horizon. Sunset was at 7:02 pm and astronomical twilight ended at 8:32 pm. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks was also sighted with the 88 mm scope and the 15x56 binoculars.

● The third sighting of the first elongation for 2024 was on March 21, 2024, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a clear sky. Mercury was first spotted at 7:45 pm EDT with unaided eyes through the car's side window. It was subsequently observed with 12x50 binoculars and a 115 mm spotting scope. It was last seen at the treetops with unaided eyes and the 12x50s at 8:32 pm. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 11°45′ altitude, 273° azimuth, magnitude -0.53, 6.9″ diameter and 55% illuminated. Solar elongation was 18.2°. Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.9° and the ecliptic was tilted 73° to the horizon. Sunset was at 7:13 pm and astronomical twilight ended at 8:44 pm. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks was also spotted with a 115 mm spotting scope (a faint tail too) and just the coma with the 12x50s, despite the suburban location and a 91% Moon in the sky.

Elongation #1

● The first sighting of the first elongation for 2024 (the 83rd elongation in a row overall) was on December 30, 2023, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a mostly clear sky, except for low clouds along  the eastern horizon. Mercury was spotted at 6:33 am EST with 12x50 binoculars after it rose into the broken clouds towards the top of the cloud bank. It was in Ophiuchus, 6° directly below Sabik (Eta Oph), with the Yeds (Delta & Epsilon Oph) being the starting point, then dropping down through Zeta Oph to Sabik. Here's an S&T chart. Mercury was followed into a clear sky with the 12x50s until 6:43 am (although the sky had become mostly mostly overcast with clouds moving in from the west by time I arrived home at 7:10 am). Mercury was not seen with unaided eyes. When initially sighted, it was at 4°53′ altitude, 121° azimuth, magnitude +1.01, 9.0″ diameter and 21% illuminated. Solar elongation was 16.0°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:44 am and the Sun would rise at 7:21 am.

● The second sighting of the first elongation for 2024 was on January 2, 2024, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a mostly clear sky. Mercury was first spotted at 6:19 am EST with 12x50 binoculars and immediately after with unaided eyes. It was still in Ophiuchus, 4.7° below Sabik (Eta Oph). Mercury was followed with unaided eyes until 6:48 am and last seen in the 12x50s at 6:53 am, when I gave up trying to spot mag +1.4 Mars in the orange twilight haze above the tree tops, 7.2° below Mercury. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 4°50′ altitude, 121° azimuth, magnitude +0.38, 8.3″ diameter and 33% illuminated. Solar elongation was 19.6°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:44 am and the Sun would rise at 7:21 am.

● The third sighting of the first elongation for 2024 was on January 8, 2024, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ, under a clear sky. Mercury was first spotted at 5:47 am EST with an 88 mm spotting scope at 25x, then immediately afterwards with unaided eyes. It was still in Ophiuchus, 8.1° below Sabik (Eta Oph), Mercury was followed with unaided eyes until 6:46 am. When initially sighted, it was at 1°15′ altitude, 119° azimuth, magnitude -0.12, 7.2″ diameter and 53% illuminated. Solar elongation was 23.0°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:45 am and the Sun would rise at 7:21 am.

On arrival at 4:50 am, brilliant Venus and the 12% waning crescent Moon were readily apparent with unaided eyes just above the treetops. Between 5:01 and 5:36 am, the Moon occulted magnitude 2.9 Alniyat, Sigma Sco. Magnitude +1.4 Mars was spotted at 6:36 am with the 88 mm scope at 25x in the orange twilight just above the tree tops, 1.5° altitude and 8.6° below Mercury. That evening at the WAS Barnegat Observing Site in the NJ Pines, Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus (from west to east) were observed, all with 15x56 binoculars, all but Saturn with a 12.5 inch Dob and all but Neptune with unaided eyes. So, all seven planets (eight counting earth) were observed on the same calendar day, January 8. In addition, two other solar system types were observed at Barnegat: the asteroid/minor planet (4) Vesta and comet 144P/Kushida; Vesta with the 15x56s and 12.5 inch, 144P with the 12.5 inch.

● The fourth sighting of the first elongation for 2024 was on January 22, 2024, from the Thompson's Beach nature platform in Cumberland County, NJ, just off the north shore of the Delaware Bay near Maurice River Cove and East Point. The sky was clear down to the horizon and the temperature was a chilly 21°F, although farther inland on the trip down and back, temperatures as low as 17°F were noted on the car's thermometer. Brilliant Venus was sighted with unaided eyes on arrival at 5:07 am EST when it was 22 arc minutes altitude, although dimmed, woozy and reddish at that point. Dim Mars was sighted with an 88 mm spotting scope at 6:15 am using 25x, when it was 21 arc minutes altitude. Moderately bright Mercury was first spotted at 5:56 am with the 88 mm at 25x, then subsequently seen with unaided eyes. When initially seen, Mercury was at 0°00′ altitude (value from SkyTools set to the coordinates of Thompson's Beach; I suspect denser air from the cold temperature caused a little extra atmospheric refraction compared to the standard nominal amount). It was 119.5° azimuth, magnitude -0.23, 5.7″ diameter and 79% illuminated. Solar elongation was 21.7°. Astronomical twilight began at 5:41 am and the Sun would rise at 7:15 am. Mercury and Mars were about 3.3° apart, so they both fit in the 4.5° field of the 15x56s.

The primary targets of the trip were (1) Omega Centauri, NGC 5139, which I picked it up at 5:14 am, easily with 15x56 binoculars. (2) I also spotted comet 62P/Tsuchinshan in Virgo, about 9° east of Denebola, with the 15x56s. Both of these were observed with the 88 mm scope too. Finally, and perhaps the most important target for this morning was (3) Supernova 2024gy in the galaxy NGC 4216, also in Virgo (just a few degrees from 62P). I think I saw it with the 88 mm on Jan 17; I unambiguously saw it my 115 mm spotting scope on Jan 20 (both occasions from Wharton State Forest), so I wanted to look again from the darker sky over the Delaware Bay. It required averted vision, but I feel confident that I genuinely saw it with the 88 mm this morning. Contemporaneous visual estimates at AAVSO were running about magnitude 12.8.

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The current streak is now 87 elongations in a row, starting the fourteenth calendar year of seeing Mercury at every elongation (beginning in January 2011). There are six or seven elongations per year. The years 2011, 2015, 2018 and 2022 each had seven (7) elongations, while 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 each had six (6). That's 82 elongations in 13 years, or an average of 6.3 elongations per year. 2024 will have seven elongations. Click here for sightings in 2023. The purpose of this ongoing effort is not to set some record, especially since I have no idea what sort of record might exist. My note to Gary Seronik that was published in S&T magazine (see on the 2022 Mercury page) yielded no responses. Regardless, it demonstrates that locating and seeing Mercury is not nearly as difficult as many suppose. It just takes a little planning and effort, although circumstances make some elongations easy and some difficult.

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Last Update: Sunday, November 17, 2024 at 09:21 PM Eastern Time