Mercury positions

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The following article deals with the constellations of Mercury , i.e. H. its positions relative to the sun and the starry sky as seen from earth.

periodicity

The orbital times around the sun between earth and Mercury are roughly 54:13, which means that in 13 earth years Mercury makes 54 orbits around the sun and overtakes our planet 41 times on the inner orbit (lower conjunction). After this period, the constellation is the original again, with a difference of 2 to 3 days.

The ratio 191: 46 shows an even more precise correspondence: In 46 years Mercury has made 191 orbits and overtaken the earth 145 times. The respective days between April to July 2003 and 2049 are e.g. B., including the transit in May, with a deviation of only four and a half hours for the maximum eastern elongation and five for the western. In contrast, the values ​​for the analogous period in 2095 seem to deviate by 1 to 2 days, but this is also due to the fact that there are twelve leap years between 2003 and 2049 and only eleven between 2049 and 2095; one day of deviation would be justified by this alone.

Orbit inclination

Mercury's orbit is inclined by 7.00487 ° to the ecliptic. As a result, the planet is raised (in late winter) and lowered (in late summer) in relation to the sun. The highest decrease takes place between July 19th and 30th and amounts to 5.0 °, the highest increase amounts to 3.7 ° and is reached between February 11th and March 4th. This asymmetry already indicates the strongly elliptical character of the orbit of Mercury. In winter it is furthest away from the earth's orbit (around Christmas 0.678 AU) and closest to the sun ( aphelion , 0.322 AU), in summer it is closest to the earth (around the beginning of summer 0.550 AU) and farthest away from the sun ( Perihel , 0.450 AE).

The rise and fall are calculated from the 7 ° maximum rise of Mercury compared to the ecliptic, if one takes into account that the absolute rise of Mercury is on the one hand the tangent from 7 ° times the distance of the planet to the sun and on the other hand the tangent of the angle of elevation is relative to the earth times the distance from Mercury, which is just 1 AU (distance from the earth to the sun) minus the distance from mercury to the sun. This results in z. B. for July 23, 2032 (greatest decrease):

  • tan (α) = tan (7 °) × 0.415 ÷ 0.585 → α ≈ 5.0 °

Transits

A transit of Mercury is only possible in May or November, near the intersection of the planet's orbit with the ecliptic . The increase or decrease during the lower conjunction must not be more than 16 angular minutes (radius of the sun disk).

Two consecutive May transits, which are rarer compared to the November transits, always occur alternately 13 years and then 33 years one after the other, which again leads to a total of 46. The number 33 comes from the approximate ratio 137: 33 between Earth and Mercury years, which stands for 104 lower conjunctions in (slightly less than) 33 years. Such a gap lies, for example, between the May transits of 2016 and 2049, but also between those of 2062 and 2095.

Visibility throughout the year

In the evening sky, when elongated to the east, Mercury can be seen from January to May, and in the morning sky when elongated to the west from August to January, with visibility being best in the middle of the respective period. The following table shows every 3rd cycle from 2020, so that the dependency on the calendar date can be clearly seen in descending order. The really decisive columns for good visibility are the columns Δ of the relative brightness. It takes into account the fact that Mercury is one of the brightest celestial bodies immediately after or before sunset or sunrise, but can sometimes not be perceived due to the residual brightness of the sky. In contrast to absolute brightness, where a small value, if possible below zero, guarantees high brightness, an absolutely high value here means good visibility. The visibility threshold with the naked eye is around 0 mag, a celestial body with 1 mag is weakly visible and one with 2 mag is acceptable. Correspondingly, the times and the associated Δ values ​​are colored either pale yellow or more clearly yellow. Since the maximum brightnesses are not always taken at the time of maximum elongation, but in summer up to over two weeks before the maximum eastern and after the maximum western, columns are inserted on the outside for this maximum value (Δmax) and for the distance in days from the highest elongation (Δd). If the maximum relative brightness deviates significantly from that at maximum elongation, the distance in days is correspondingly large; On January 12, 2024 and December 25, 2024, however, the brightest days are exceptionally immediately before the maximum westerly elongation is reached (Δd has a minus sign), on 0January 7, 2022 they are after the maximum easterly elongation (Δd has a plus sign).

The following table takes into account various parameters that influence the visibility of Mercury in the sky. The height of the culmination of Mercury, ie the maximum angle in the southern sky, refers to 51.5 ° north latitude (e.g. Dortmund , Göttingen , Halle (Saale) ), where the sun is at 15 ° at noon (winter, up to 23.5 ° lowered) over 38.5 ° (= 90 ° −51.5 °) to 62 ° (summer up to 23.5 ° raised).

Best
visibility 		Greatest eastern elongation Lower conjunction Greatest western elongation Best
visibility
date Elong.-
angle 		decision
fernung 		brightness Duration

(MU − SU) 		culmination date Central
punkts-
angle 		decision
fernung 		date Elong.-
angle 		decision
fernung 		Brightness
( mag ) 		Duration

(SA − MA) 		culmination
Δmax Δd absolutely Δ Mercury Sun Diff. absolutely Δ Mercury Sun Diff. Δmax Δd
2.0 mag −1 Feb 10, 2020 18.20 ° 0.949 AU −0.5 mag 1.9 likes 102 min 31.2 ° 24.1 ° 0+ 7.1 ° Feb 26, 2020 + 3.7 ° 0.637 AU March 24, 2020 27.78 ° 0.906 AU +0.3 mag - 39 min 28.2 ° 40.2 ° −12.0 ° −3.8 mag −10
1.6 mag ± 0 Jan. 24, 2021 18.56 ° 0.968 AU −0.5 mag 1.6 mag 103 min 24.8 °° 19.3 ° 0+ 5.5 ° 0Feb 8, 2021 + 3.6 ° 0.654 AU 0March 6, 2021 27.27 ° 0.943AE +0.2 mag −3.4 mag 48 min 22.9 ° 38.9 ° −16.0 ° −2.4 mag −9
1.0 mag +1 0Jan. 7, 2022 19.22 ° 0.985 AU −0.5 mag 1.0 mag 97 min 19.0 ° 16.2 ° 0+ 2.9 ° Jan. 23, 2022 + 3.3 ° 0.663 AU Feb 16, 2022 26.28 ° 0.976 AU +0.1 mag −2.1 mag 61 min 19.1 ° 26.3 ° 0−7.2 ° −1.2 mag −7
−0.1 mag +3 Dec 21, 2022 20.14 ° 1.001 AU −0.5 mag −0.3 mag 85 min 14.9 ° 15.1 * 0−0.2 ° 0Jan. 7, 2023 + 2.8 ° 0.671 AU Jan. 30, 2023 24.96 ° 1.001 AU −0.1 mag −0.6 mag 79 min 16.8 ° 20.8 ° 0−4.0 ° −0.1 mag −6
−1.8 mag +4 0Dec 4, 2023 21.27 ° 1.013 AU −0.4 mag -2.1 mag 67 min 12.9 ° 16.3 ° 0−3.4 ° 22 Dec 2023 + 2.1 ° 0.676 AU Jan. 12, 2024 23.50 ° 1.013 AU −0.2 mag 0.5 mag 98 min 16.7 ° 16.9 ° 0−0.2 ° 0.8 mag −4
−3.8 mag +4 Nov 16, 2024 22.55 ° 1.018 AU −0.2 mag - 29 min 13.1 ° 17.5 ° 0−4.4 ° 06 Dec 2024 + 1.4 ° 0.678 AU 25 Dec 2024 22.05 ° 1.016 AU −0.3 mag 1.4 mag 112 min 18.3 ° 15.2 ° 0+ 3.1 ° 1.5 mag −2
- Oct 29, 2025 23.88 ° 1.016 AU −0.1 mag - 35 min 15.6 ° 24.9 0−9.3 ° Nov 20, 2025 + 0.5 ° 0.678 AU 07 Dec 2025 20.73 ° 1,010 AU −0.4 mag 2.0 mag 118 min 21.8 ° 15.9 ° 0+ 5.9 ° 2.0 mag ± 0
- Oct 12, 2026 25.16 ° 1.003 AU ± 0.0 mag - 29 min 19.7 ° 31.0 ° −11.3 ° 0Nov 4, 2026 −0.4 ° 0.674 AU Nov 21, 2026 19.62 ° 1.001 AU −0.5 mag 2.2 mag 116 min 26.1 ° 18.6 ° 0+ 7.5 ° 2.2 mag ± 0
- Sep 24 2027 26.26 ° 0.979 AU +0.1 mag - 27 min 25.4 ° 38.0 ° −12.6 ° Oct 19, 2027 −1.3 ° 0.668 AU 0Nov 4, 2027 18.77 ° 0.988 AU −0.5 mag 2.2 mag 111 min 31.6 ° 23.2 ° 0+ 8.4 ° 2.3 mag +2
- 06 Sep 2028 27.05 °° 0.948 AU +0.3 mag - 29 min 31.7 ° 44.7 ° −13.0 ° 0Oct 2, 2028 −2.3 ° 0.658 AU Oct 18, 2028 18.19 ° 0.974 AU −0.5 mag 2.2 mag 98 min 37.2 ° 29.0 ° 0+ 8.2 ° 2.3 mag +2
−3.2 mag −20 19 Aug 2029 27.42 ° 0.912 AU +0.3 mag - 35 min 39.0 ° 51.1 ° −12.1 ° Sep 15 2029 −3.3 ° 0.644 AU 0Oct 1, 2029 17.89 ° 0.958 AU −0.4 mag 1.9 likes 102 min 43.3 ° 35.1 ° 0+ 8.2 ° 2.2 mag +3
-2.1 mag −19 0Aug 2, 2030 27.27 ° 0.876 AU +0.4 mag - 45 min 45.9 ° 56.2 ° −10.3 ° 29 Aug 2030 −4.1 ° 0.628 AU Sep 15 2030 17.90 ° 0.940 AU −0.3 mag 1.7 likes 101 min 48.8 ° 41.4 ° 0+ 7.4 ° 2.1 mag +4
-1.0 mag −16 July 15, 2031 26.57 ° 0.846 AU +0.5 mag −2.8 mag 62 min 52.9 ° 60.0 ° 0−7.1 ° Aug 12, 2031 −4.7 ° 0.607 AU 29 Aug 2031 18.24 ° 0.919 AU −0.2 mag 1.2 mag 80 min 53.6 ° 47.8 ° 0+ 5.8 ° 1.8 mag +5
0.1 mag -15 26 Jun 2032 25.37 ° 0.827 AU +0.5 mag −1.4 mag 85 min 58.8 ° 61.8 ° 0−3.0 ° 23 Jul 2032 −5.0 ° 0.585 AU 11 Aug 2032 18.92 ° 0.896 AU ± 0.0 mag 0.7 mag 57 min 57.2 ° 53.5 ° 0+ 3.7 ° 1.4 mag +7
1.1 mag −11 07 Jun 2033 23.84 ° 0.822 AU +0.5 mag 0.1 mag 76 min 62.9 ° 61.2 ° 0+ 1.7 ° 0Jul 4, 2033 −4.6 ° 0.565 AU 25 Jul 2033 19.95 ° 0.870 AU +0.2 mag −0.6 mag 89 min 59.1 ° 58.0 ° 0+ 1.1 ° 0.8 mag +9
1.7 likes –9 May 20, .2034 22.25 ° 0.831 AU +0.4 mag 0.9 mag 128 min 63.9 ° 58.6 ° 0+ 5.3 ° Jun 14, 2034 −3.4 ° 0.552 AU 07 Jul 2034 21.32 ° 0.845 AU +0.4 mag −1.9 mag 75 min 58.7 ° 61.9 ° 0−3.2 ° −0.3 mag +11
2.0 mag −7 0May 2, .2035 20.80 ° 0.849 AU +0.3 mag 1.5 mag 129 min 61.8 53.9 ° 0+ 7.9 ° May 25, .2035 −1.5 ° 0.550 AU Jun 19, 2035 22.95 ° 0.826 AU +0.5 mag −3.9 mag 57 min 56.2 ° 61.9 ° 0−5.7 ° −1.7 mag +14
2.2 mag −5 Apr 13, 2036 19.63 ° 0.871 AU +0.1 mag 1.7 likes 121 min 57.0 ° 47.9 ° 0+ 9.1 ° 0May 4, .2036 + 0.4 ° 0.561 AU May 31, .2036 24.65 ° 0.819 AU +0.5 mag - 41 min 51.7 ° 60.5 ° 0−8.8 ° −3.2 mag +17
2.2 mag −3 March 27, 2037 18.80 ° 0.894 AU −0.1 mag 1.8 mag 112 min 50.7 ° 41.4 ° 0+ 9.3 ° Apr 15, 2037 + 2.0 ° 0.581 AU May 13, .2037 26.17 ° 0.826 AU +0.5 mag - 34 min 45.9 ° 57.0 ° −11.1 ° -
2.2 mag −4 March 11, 2038 18.29 ° 0.915 AU −0.3 mag 1.9 likes 107 min 44.1 ° 35.0 ° 0+ 9.1 ° March 27, 2038 + 3.1 ° 0.603 AU Apr 24, 2038 27.28 ° 0.847 AU +0.4 mag - 32 min 39.0 ° 51.5 ° −12.5 ° -

The table shows that Mercury is especially visible when it accumulates higher than the Sun, and is particularly well visible when it accumulates 5 ° and more higher. This is mainly the case in the evening sky (eastern elongation) when the days become longer in an interval of around 20 days. If Mercury is deflected, it is where the sun will not be for 20 days (360 ° ≘365 d). In the morning sky (western elongation), however, Mercury is where the sun had been around 20 days earlier, which is why decreasing day lengths during this period raise Mercury compared to the sun.

These arguments also apply analogously to Venus , only with her it is around 45 days in maximum elongation.

The absolute brightness of Mercury fluctuates around 1 mag from +0.5 mag to −0.5 mag at maximum elongation. It increases in the amount towards the upper conjunction to values ​​around −2 mag, but this occurs at times when Mercury is too close to the sun to be seen. If the planet is significantly less than 1 AU away at maximum elongation, the time of best visibility is clearly before (eastern elongation, evening sky) or clearly after (western elongation, morning sky) the maximum elongation. If Mercury is very close to the earth during elongation, only a sickle is irradiated and the apparent brightness drops significantly. Overall, however, the apparent brightness only has a secondary influence: For example, the Δ value of Mercury in the evening sky on May 20, 2034 and May 02, 2035 is smaller than it should be from the angle difference in the cumulation between Mercury and the Sun, since its apparent brightness here assumes positive, i.e. relatively dark, values, while in the evening sky on January 12, 2024 and on December 25, 2024, the opposite case occurs, since the apparent brightness assumes negative values. Compare the colors in the table above!

Mercury's orbital inclination also has its effects. On February 10, 2020, Mercury was deflected by around 18 °. As a result, he assumed the position in the sky that the sun would only take 18 days later, on February 28, which would correspond to a culmination height of 30.5 °. However, it was a little higher. On May 20, 2034, Mercury will be deflected by 22 ° and will be roughly where the sun would be 22 days later, on June 11, which would correspond to 61.6 ° culmination. However, at 63.9 ° it will be higher than the sun at 51.5. Degree of latitude (see value in bold). In an analogous way, Mercury 0will culminate on December 4, 2023 lower than the Sun would be possible at this latitude.

In the case of eastward elongation, the opposite occurs: the elevated Mercury is lowered and the lowered Mercury is increased, so that the seasonal course of the visibilities is somewhat buffered.

Table of constellations from 2003 to 2031

The special constellations of Mercury from 2003 to 2031 are shown below. Elongations of Mercury with the possibility of free-eyed visibility in Europe are highlighted in light yellow to dull yellow (eastern elongation offers evening visibility, western elongation morning visibility). Mercury transits are highlighted in light green. After 13 years a light dividing line is inserted, after 46 years a dark one, which sets the light one to zero and starts again 13 years later. Thus, in the table beginning in the spring of the May transit year 2003, there are always alternating behind the next light dividing line, behind the next dark one, etc .; these were continued in the table until the year 2141.

The central angle indicated next to the date of the lower conjunction has a minus sign when Mercury is south of the Sun. High plus values, as they occur mainly from January to March, mean that Mercury is higher than the sun when viewed from the northern hemisphere - but this only has a marginal influence on the period of visibility (see note below the table on the visibility of Venus ). To a certain extent, around February 10th there is a “summer summer turnaround” (Mercury has its highest level relative to the sun), while around August 10th it is “winter summer turning point” (Mercury is below the sun). The typical transit times are exactly in between November and May. Since the solar disk occupies about half a degree, or more precisely: 32 minutes, and Mercury can only neglect a very small fraction of it, i.e. its size, there is roughly a transit if the central angle is less than 16 minutes.

The relative apparent brightness Δ represents a difference value to the visibility threshold with the naked eye, which is more meaningful for Mercury than the absolute apparent brightness - which is always relatively high for Mercury , but cannot have an effect if the evening or morning sky is too bright. Values ​​around 0 may be on the threshold, values ​​around 1 may indicate moderate visibility and values ​​around 2 may be more acceptable; the fields are colored accordingly. A minus sign without a number indicates particularly high minus values ​​(<−4 mag). The value Δmax here means the highest value within the elongation period, which is not necessarily reached at maximum elongation, but up to two weeks earlier, especially with eastern elongation in and just before June and western elongation in and shortly after July ( east.) or later (west.) is reached. Which does not contradict the theorem that one can see Mercury in the evening sky until May and in the morning sky from August. If you are looking for the days with the best visibility, compare with the table in the section “Visibility over the course of the year” and compare there with similar points of similar calendar date. The days of best visibility for the maximum eastern elongation on June 4, 2020 are e.g. For example, analogous to June 7, 2033, about 11 days earlier, i.e. around May 24, 2020. For the following maximum eastern elongation on July 22, 2020, however, the days of best visibility, analogous to July 25, 2033, are around 9 Days later, around August 3, 2020. At both times of maximum elongation, however, visibility is significantly limited, as the table above indicates.

The values ​​relate to 51.5 ° north latitude ( Dortmund , Göttingen , Halle (Saale) ) and the date, if applicable, to Dortmund (or Bern ; 7.5 ° east longitude); in southern Germany the planet appears approx. 0.3 mag brighter. → for 2020

Greatest
eastern elongation 		Stationary,
then retrograde 		Lower
conjunction 		Stationary,
then clockwise 		Greatest western
elongation 		Upper
conjunction
date Δmax angle date date angle date date Δmax angle date
April 16, 2003 2.2 mag 19.77 ° April 26, 2003 May 7, 2003 12.0 ' May 19, 2003 June 3, 2003 - 24.43 ° July 5, 2004
Aug 14, 2003 27.4 ° Aug 28, 2003 Sep 11 2003 −3.5 ° 19 Sep 2003 27 Sep 2003 17.9 ° Oct 25, 2003
Dec 9, 2003 20.9 ° Dec 17, 2003 Dec. 27, 2003 2.3 ° Jan. 6, 2004 Jan. 17, 2004 24.0 ° March 4, 2004
March 29, 2004 18.5 ° April 6, 2004 April 17, 2004 1.9 ° April 29, 2004 May 14, 2004 26.0 ° June 18, 2004
July 27, 2004 27.1 ° Aug 10, 2004 23 Aug 2004 −4.3 ° Sep 1 2004 Sep 9 2004 18.0 ° Oct 5, 2004
Nov 21, 2004 22.2 ° Nov 30, 2004 Dec 10, 2004 1.6 ° Dec 20, 2004 Dec 29, 2004 22.5 ° Feb 14, 2005
March 12, 2005 18.3 ° March 20, 2005 March 29, 2005 3.0 ° April 11, 2005 April 26, 2005 27.2 ° June 3, 2005
July 9, 2005 26.2 ° July 23, 2005 Aug 5, 2005 −4.9 ° Aug 15, 2005 23 Aug 2005 18.4 ° Sep 18 2005
Nov 3, 2005 23.5 ° Nov 14, 2005 Nov 24, 2005 46.8 ' Dec 4, 2005 Dec 12, 2005 21.1 ° Jan. 26, 2006
Feb 24, 2006 18.1 ° March 2, 2006 March 12, 2006 3.6 ° March 24, 2006 April 8, 2006 27.8 ° May 18, 2006
June 20, 2006 24.9 ° 4th July 2006 July 18, 2006 −4.9 ° July 28, 2006 Aug 7, 2006 19.2 ° Sep 1 2006
Oct 17, 2006 24.8 ° Oct 28, 2006 Nov 8, 2006 −7.1 ' Nov 17, 2006 Nov 25, 2006 19.9 ° Jan. 7, 2007
Feb 7, 2007 18.2 ° Feb 14, 2007 Feb 23, 2007 3.7 ° March 7, 2007 March 22, 2007 27.7 ° May 3, 2007
June 2, 2007 23.4 ° June 16, 2007 June 28, 2007 −4.3 ° July 10, 2007 July 20, 2007 20.3 ° Aug 15, 2007
29 Sep 2007 26.0 ° Oct 12, 2007 Oct 23, 2007 1.1 ° Nov 1, 2007 Nov 8, 2007 19.0 ° Dec 17, 2007
Jan. 22, 2008 18.6 ° Jan. 28, 2008 Feb 6, 2008 3.6 ° Feb 18, 2008 March 3, 2008 27.1 ° April 16, 2008
May 14, 2008 21.8 ° May 26, 2008 June 7, 2008 −2.9 ° June 19, 2008 July 1, 2008 21.8 ° July 29, 2008
Sep 11 2008 26.9 ° Sep 24 2008 Oct 6, 2008 −2.0 ° Oct 15, 2008 Oct 22, 2008 18.3 ° Nov 25, 2008
Jan. 4, 2009 19.3 ° Jan. 11, 2009 Jan. 20, 2009 3.2 ° Feb 1, 2009 Feb 13, 2009 26.1 ° March 31, 2009
April 26, 2009 20.4 ° May 7, 2009 May 18, 2009 −56.0 ' May 30, 2009 June 13, 2009 23.5 ° July 14, 2009
Aug 24, 2009 27.4 ° Sep 7 2009 Sep 20 2009 −3.0 ° 28 Sep 2009 Oct 6, 2009 17.9 ° Nov 5, 2009
Dec 18, 2009 20.3 ° Dec 26, 2009 Jan. 4, 2010 2.7 ° Jan 15, 2010 Jan. 27, 2010 24.8 ° March 14, 2010
April 8, 2010 19.3 ° April 18, 2010 April 28, 2010 58.0 ' May 11, 2010 May 26, 2010 25.1 ° June 28, 2010
Aug 7, 2010 27.2 ° Aug 20, 2010 3rd Sep 2010 −3.9 Sep 12 2010 19 Sep 2010 18.2 ° Oct 17, 2010
Dec 1, 2010 21.2 ° Dec 10, 2010 Dec 20, 2010 2.0 Dec 30, 2010 Jan. 9, 2011 23.3 ° Feb 25, 2011
March 23, 2011 18.6 ° March 30, 2011 April 9, 2011 2.4 ° April 22, 2011 May 7, 2011 26.6 ° June 12, 2011
July 20, 2011 26.8 ° Aug 3, 2011 17 Aug 2011 −4.6 ° 26 Aug 2011 3rd Sep 2011 18.1 ° 28 Sep 2011
Nov 14, 2011 22.7 ° Nov 24, 2011 Dec 4, 2011 1.3 ° Dec 14, 2011 23 Dec 2011 21.8 ° Feb 7, 2012
March 5, 2012 18.2 ° March 12, 2012 March 21, 2012 3.3 ° April 3, 2012 April 18, 2012 27.5 ° May 27, 2012
July 1, 2012 25.7 ° July 15, 2012 July 28, 2012 −5.0 ° Aug 7, 2012 16 Aug 2012 18.7 ° Sep 10 2012
Oct 26, 2012 24.1 ° Nov 7, 2012 Nov 17, 2012 24.4 ' Nov 26, 2012 Dec 4, 2012 20.6 ° Jan. 18, 2013
Feb 16, 2013 18.1 ° 23 Feb 2013 4th March 2013 3.7 ° March 16, 2013 March 31, 2013 27.8 ° May 11th, 2013
June 12th, 2013 24.3 ° June 25, 2013 July 9, 2013 −4.8 ° 20th July 2013 July 30, 2013 19.6 ° Aug 24, 2013
Oct 9, 2013 25.3 ° Oct 21, 2013 Nov 1, 2013 −31.0 ' Nov 10, 2013 Nov 18, 2013 19.5 ° Dec 29, 2013
Jan. 31, 2014 18.4 ° Feb 6, 2014 Feb 15, 2014 3.7 ° Feb. 27, 2014 March 14, 2014 27.6 ° April 26, 2014
May 25, 2014 22.7 ° June 7, 2014 20th June 2014 −3.8 ° July 1, 2014 July 12, 2014 20.9 ° Aug 8, 2014
21 Sep 2014 26.4 ° Oct 4, 2014 Oct 16, 2014 −1.5 ° Oct 25, 2014 Nov 1, 2014 18.7 ° Dec 8, 2014
Jan. 14, 2015 18.9 ° Jan. 21, 2015 Jan. 30, 2015 3.5 ° Feb 11, 2015 Feb. 24, 2015 26.8 ° April 10, 2015
May 7, 2015 21.2 ° 19th May 2015 May 30, 2015 −2.1 ° June 11, 2015 June 24, 2015 22.5 ° 23rd July 2015
4th Sep 2015 27.1 ° 17 Sep 2015 Sep 30 2015 −2.5 ° Oct 8, 2015 Oct 16, 2015 18.1 ° Nov 17, 2015
Dec 29, 2015 19.7 ° Jan. 5, 2016 Jan. 14, 2016 3.0 ° Jan. 25, 2016 Feb 7, 2016 25.6 ° March 23, 2016
April 18, 2016 2.1 mag 19.93 ° April 28, 2016 May 9, 2016 5.4 ' May 21, 2016 5th June 2016 - 24.18 ° July 7, 2016
16 Aug 2016 27.4 ° Aug 30, 2016 13 Sep 2016 −3.4 ° 21 Sep 2016 28 Sep 2016 17.9 ° Oct 27, 2016
Dec 11, 2016 20.8 ° 19 Dec 2016 Dec 28, 2016 2.4 ° Jan. 8, 2017 Jan. 19, 2017 24.1 ° March 7, 2017
April 1, 2017 19.0 ° April 10, 2017 April 20, 2017 1.6 ° 2nd May 2017 17th May 2017 25.8 ° June 21, 2017
July 30, 2017 27.2 ° 13 Aug 2017 26 Aug 2017 −4.2 ° 4th Sep 2017 Sep 12 2017 17.9 ° Oct 8, 2017
Nov 24, 2017 22.0 ° 3rd Dec 2017 Dec 13, 2017 1.7 ° 23 Dec 2017 Jan. 1, 2018 22.7 ° 17 Feb 2018
15th March 2018 18.4 ° 23 March 2018 April 1, 2018 2.8 ° April 14, 2018 April 29, 2018 27.0 ° June 6, 2018
July 12, 2018 26.4 ° July 26, 2018 9 Aug 2018 −4.8 ° 18 Aug 2018 26 Aug 2018 18.3 ° 21 Sep 2018
Nov 6, 2018 23.3 ° Nov 17, 2018 Nov 27, 2018 54.6 ' Dec 6, 2018 Dec 15, 2018 21.3 ° Jan. 30, 2019
Feb. 27, 2019 18.1 ° 5th March 2019 15th March 2019 3.5 ° March 27, 2019 April 11, 2019 27.7 ° May 21, 2019
June 23, 2019 25.1 ° 7th July 2019 July 21, 2019 −5.0 ° July 31, 2019 9 Aug 2019 19.1 ° 4th Sep 2019
Oct. 20, 2019 24.6 ° Oct 31, 2019 Nov 11, 2019 1.3 ' Nov 20, 2019 Nov 28, 2019 20.1 ° Jan 10, 2020
Feb 10, 2020 2.0 mag 18.2 ° Feb 17, 2020 Feb 26, 2020 3.7 ° March 9, 2020 March 24, 2020 −3.8 mag 27.8 ° 4th May 2020
4th June 2020 1.2 mag 23.6 ° June 18, 2020 July 1, 2020 −4.4 ° July 12, 2020 July 22, 2020 0.6 mag 20.1 ° 17th Aug 2020
Oct 1, 2020 - 25.8 ° Oct 14, 2020 Oct 25, 2020 −55.4 ' Nov 3, 2020 Nov 10, 2020 2.4 mag 19.1 ° Dec 20, 2020
Jan. 24, 2021 1.6 mag 18.6 ° Jan. 30, 2021 Feb 8, 2021 3.6 ° Feb 20, 2021 March 6, 2021 −2.4 mag 27.3 ° April 19, 2021
May 17, 2021 1.7 likes 22 ° May 30, 2021 June 11, 2021 −3.1 ° June 22, 2021 4th July 2021 −0.5 mag 21.6 ° Aug 1, 2021
Sep 14 2021 - 26.8 ° 27 Sep 2021 Oct 9, 2021 −1.9 ° Oct 18, 2021 Oct 25, 2021 2.3 mag 18.4 ° Nov 29, 2021
Jan. 7, 2022 1.0 mag 19.2 ° Jan 14, 2022 Jan. 23, 2022 3.3 ° Feb 3, 2022 Feb 16, 2022 −1.2 mag 26.3 ° April 3, 2022
April 29, 2022 2.0 mag 20.6 ° May 10, 2022 May 21, 2022 −1.2 ° June 3, 2022 June 16, 2022 −1.9 mag 23.2 ° July 16, 2022
27 Aug 2022 −3.6 mag 27.3 ° Sep 10 2022 23 Sep 2022 −2.9 ° Oct 1, 2022 Oct 8, 2022 2.3 mag 18 ° Nov 8, 2022
Dec 21, 2022 -0.1 mag 20.1 ° 29 Dec 2022 Jan. 7, 2023 2.8 ° Jan. 18, 2023 Jan. 30, 2023 −0.1 mag 25 ° March 17, 2023
April 12, 2023 2.2 mag 19.5 ° April 21, 2023 May 2, 2023 42.1 ' May 14, 2023 May 29, 2023 −3.5 mag 24.9 ° July 1, 2023
Aug 10, 2023 −2.6 mag 27.4 ° 23 Aug 2023 6 Sep 2023 −3.8 ° Sep 15 2023 22 Sep 2023 2.1 mag 17.9 ° Oct 20, 2023
Dec 4, 2023 -1.8 mag 21.3 ° Dec 13, 2023 22 Dec 2023 2.1 ° Jan 2, 2024 Jan. 12, 2024 0.8 mag 23.5 ° Feb 28, 2024
March 24, 2024 2.2 mag 18.7 ° April 2, 2024 April 12, 2024 2.2 ° April 25, 2024 May 9, 2024 - 26.4 ° June 14, 2024
July 22, 2024 −1.5 mag 26.9 ° Aug 5, 2024 Aug 19, 2024 −4.5 ° 28 Aug 2024 5th Sep 2024 2.0 mag 18.1 ° Sep 30 2024
Nov 16, 2024 −3.8 mag 22.5 ° Nov 26, 2024 6 Dec 2024 1.4 ° Dec 15, 2024 25 Dec 2024 1.5 mag 22.1 ° Feb 9, 2025
March 8, 2025 2.2 mag 18.2 ° March 15, 2025 March 24, 2025 3.2 ° April 7, 2025 April 21, 2025 - 27.4 ° May 30, 2025
July 4, 2025 −0.3 mag 25.9 ° July 18, 2025 Aug 1, 2025 −4.9 ° Aug 11, 2025 Aug 19, 2025 1.6 mag 18.6 ° 13 Sep 2025
Oct 29, 2025 - 23.9 ° Nov 9, 2025 Nov 20, 2025 32.5 ' Nov 29, 2025 7 Dec 2025 2.0 mag 20.7 ° Jan. 21, 2026
Feb 19, 2026 2.1 mag 18.1 ° Feb 26, 2026 March 7, 2026 3.6 ° March 20, 2026 April 3, 2026 - 27.8 ° May 14, 2026
June 15, 2026 0.7 mag 24.5 ° June 29, 2026 July 13, 2026 −4.8 ° July 24, 2026 Aug 2, 2026 1.1 mag 19.5 ° 27 Aug 2026
Oct 12, 2026 - 25.2 ° Oct 24, 2026 Nov 4, 2026 −22.4 ' Nov 13, 2026 Nov 21, 2026 2.2 mag 19.6 ° Jan. 1, 2027
Feb 3, 2027 1.9 likes 18.3 ° Feb 9, 2027 Feb 18, 2027 3.7 ° March 3, 2027 March 17, 2027 −3.2 mag 27.6 ° April 28, 2027
May 28, 2027 1.4 mag 22.9 ° June 10, 2027 June 23, 2027 −4.0 ° July 4, 2027 July 15, 2027 0.2 mag 20.7 ° Aug 11, 2027
Sep 24 2027 - 26.3 ° Oct 7, 2027 Oct 19, 2027 −1.3 ° Oct 28, 2027 Nov 4, 2027 2.3 mag 18.8 ° Dec 11, 2027
Jan. 17, 2028 1.4 mag 18.8 ° Jan 24, 2028 Feb 2, 2028 3.5 ° Feb 14, 2028 Feb. 27, 2028 −1.9 mag 26.9 ° April 11, 2028
May 9, 2028 1.9 likes 21.4 ° May 21, 2028 June 2, 2028 −2.4 ° June 14, 2028 June 26, 2028 −1.1 mag 22.2 ° July 25, 2028
6 Sep 2028 - 27.1 ° 19 Sep 2028 Oct 2, 2028 −2.3 ° Oct 11, 2028 Oct 17, 2028 2.3 mag 18.2 ° Nov 20, 2028
Dec 31, 2028 0.6 mag 19.6 ° Jan. 7, 2029 Jan 16, 2029 3.1 ° Jan 27, 2029 Feb 9, 2029 −0.7 mag 25.7 ° March 26, 2029
April 21, 2029 2.1 mag 20.1 ° May 2, 2029 May 13, 2029 −23.2 ' May 25, 2029 June 8, 2029 −2.6 mag 23.9 ° July 9, 2029
19 Aug 2029 −3.2 mag 27.4 ° Sep 2 2029 Sep 15 2029 −3.3 ° 25 Sep 2029 Oct 1, 2029 2.2 mag 17.9 ° Oct 30, 2029
Dec 14, 2029 −0.7 mag 20.6 ° 22 Dec 2029 Dec 31, 2029 2.5 ° Jan. 11, 2030 Jan. 22, 2030 0.4 mag 24.4 ° March 9, 2030
April 4, 2030 2.2 mag 19.1 ° April 13, 2030 April 23, 2030 1.4 ° May 6, 2030 May 21, 2030 - 25.6 ° June 24, 2030
Aug 2, 2030 -2.1 mag 27.3 ° 16 Aug 2030 29 Aug 2030 −4.1 ° 8 Sep 2030 Sep 15 2030 2.1 mag 17.9 ° Oct 11, 2030
Nov 27, 2030 −2.6 mag 21.8 ° 6 Dec 2030 Dec 15, 2030 1.8 ° 25 Dec 2030 Jan 4, 2031 1.2 mag 22.9 ° Feb 20, 2031
March 18, 2031 2.2 mag 18.5 ° March 26, 2031 April 4, 2031 2.7 ° April 18, 2031 May 2, 2031 - 26.9 ° June 8, 2031
July 15, 2031 −1.0 mag 26.6 ° 29 July 2031 Aug 12, 2031 −4.7 ° 22 Aug 2031 29 Aug 2031 1.8 mag 18.2 ° Sep 24 2031
April 16, 2049 2.1 mag 19.79 ° April 26, 2049 May 7, 2049 8.7 ' May 19, 2049 June 3, 2049 - 24.40 ° July 5, 2049
April 19, 2062 2.1 mag 19.95 ° April 30, 2062 May 10, 2062 8.8 ' May 23, 2062 June 6, 2062 - 24.15 ° July 8, 2062
April 18, 2095 2.1 mag 19.81 ° April 28, 2095 May 8, 2095 5.2 ' May 21, 2095 June 4, 2095 - 24.36 ° July 6, 2095
April 21, 2108 2.1 mag 19.97 ° April 30, 2108 May 12, 2108 12.3 ' May 25, 2108 June 7, 2108 - 24.11 ° July 9, 2108
April 19, 2141 2.1 mag 19.83 ° April 29, 2141 May 10, 2141 1.8 ' May 23, 2141 June 6, 2141 - 24.33 ° July 8, 2141

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c Mercury positions on calsky.com
  2. ↑ Culminating heights of the sun calculated by Sonnengeschichte.de
  3. ↑ Note: The extrapolation does not work for the western elongation immediately after a May transit. According to the table above, one would expect a maximum brightness of −1.7 to −3.2 mag with an offset of 14 to 17 days, but de facto the maximum brightness in the entire cycle is below −4 mag. This is because the offset reaches its maximum here, i.e. is significantly more than 17 days, whereby the days of best visibility slip too close to the upper conjunction - which worsens visibility.
  4. ↑ a b relative to the ecliptic