Mercury Reaches Its Farthest Separation from the Sun, Attaining the Greatest Elongation at a Maximum 23-Inch Angle

Planet Mercury has shortly exposed itself at pre-dawn today, June 16, when it reaches its farthest separation from the Sun as observed from Earth, also identified as its greatest western elongation.

As specified in a Space.com report, the elusive planet would attain a maximum angle of 23 inches west of the sun; viewers located close to the Equator and farther south "would experience the best viewing opportunities."

According to Chrisy Vaughan, a geophysicist and amateur astronomer with SkySafari Software overseeing this space news site's Nigth Sky calendar. The said report also indicated it would be positioned a first diameter to the lower left of an extremely brighter Venus.

The exact time of the occurrence differs depending on observers' specific location, so they would want to check out an app for skywatching such as SkySafari or software such as Starry Night to check for times. The site's picks for the best stargazing app may help enthusiasts with their planning.

Mercury Reaching its Greatest Elongation

If the skies become cloudy on Thursday, said Vaughan, there's no need to worry. Mercury, he added, will be almost as far from the Sun on the surrounding mornings.

Typically, Mercury is a tricky planet to spot as it is orbiting lies nearer the sun compared to the Earth's, and it is frequently obscured by the glare of the Sun.

Moreover, the best time to spot Mercury is when the planet approaches its greatest elongation, its angular distance from the Sun. In-The-Sky.org reported that such apparitions take place approximately every three to four months.

Mercury zips around the Sun every 88 Earth days, traveling through space at almost 112,000 mph or 180,000 kilometers per hour, faster than any other planet.

Mercury's Transit ni 2019

In 2019, a separate Space.com report said a rare transit of Mercury took place where the planet crossed the face of the Sun. This is not happening until 2032.

During Mercury's transit, the innermost planet spent roughly 5.5 hours crossing in front of the Sun from people's perspective on Earth.

During this time, skywatchers across the United States, Africa, and Europe could see at least part of the journey of Mercury across the Sun, although only with telescopes or high-power binoculars equipped with protective solar filters.

Meanwhile, several spacecraft including the Solar Dynamics Observatory of NASA provided sights of the occurrence from space.

The silhouette of Mercury started encroaching on the Sun's disk at 7:35 am EST. When the Sun was atop the horizon for observers in South America, eastern Central America, and the US East Coast.

Lastly, Mercury had been making its way across the Sun by Sunrise in the rest of the US. In the majority of Africa and Europe, this planet was still crossing the Sun as the Sun dipped beneath the western horizon.

Related information about Mercury is shown on Astrum's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Planets in Science Times.