The planet Mercury
© NASA/JPL/MESSENGER
Finder chart
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From Fairfield , Mercury is difficult to observe as it will appear no higher than 10° above the horizon. It is visible in the dawn sky, rising at 05:32 (EST) – 1 hour and 36 minutes before the Sun – and reaching an altitude of 10° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks around 06:42.
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|
Name
Mercury
|
Object Type
Inferior Planet
|
Current Position
| Constellation: | Libra |
| Magnitude: | -0.57 (V) [1] |
| Absolute mag (H): | -0.65 [1] |
| Slope parameter (n): | 2.00 [1] |
| Right ascension: | 15h43m [1] |
| Declination: | -18°14' [1] |
| Distance: | 1.21 AU 10.04 lightmin [1] |
Orbital Elements [1]
| Semi-major axis: | 0.39 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.205629 |
| Inclination: | 7.01° |
| Longitude ascending node: | 48.35° |
| Argument of perihelion: | 29.08° |
| Epoch of elements: | 15 January 1985 |
| Mean Anomaly at epoch: | 132.23° |
Derived quantities
| Perihelion: | 0.31 AU |
| Aphelion: | 0.47 AU |
| Orbital period: | 0.24 years |
Source
| [1] | Robin M. Green, Spherical Astronomy, 1985, ISBN 0-521-31779-7 |
Events
| 11 Nov 2019 | – Mercury at inferior solar conjunction |
| 11 Nov 2019 | – Transit of Mercury |
| 16 Nov 2019 | – Mercury at perihelion |
| 25 Nov 2019 | – Mercury at dichotomy |
| 27 Nov 2019 | – Mercury reaches highest point in morning sky |
| 28 Nov 2019 | – Mercury at greatest elongation west |
| 30 Dec 2019 | – Mercury at aphelion |
| 10 Jan 2020 | – Mercury at superior solar conjunction |
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