Mercury (Planet)
© NASA/JPL/MESSENGER
Finder chart
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From Cambridge , Mercury is not observable – it will reach its highest point in the sky during daytime and is 7° below the horizon at dawn.
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|
Name
Mercury
|
Object type
Inferior planet
|
Current position
| Computed for: | 30 March 2025 |
| Right ascension: | 23h55m [2] |
| Declination: | +01°45' [2] |
| Constellation: | Pisces |
| Magnitude: | 3.74 (V) [1] |
| Angular diameter: | 11.2 arcsec[2] |
| Distance: | 0.60 AU 4.99 lightmin [2] |
| Angular motion (speed): | 43.55 arcmin/day[2] |
| Angular motion (pos ang): | 225.9° |
Orbital elements [2]
| Semi-major axis: | 0.39 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.205636 |
| Inclination: | 7.00° |
| Longitude ascending node: | 48.33° |
| Argument of perihelion: | 29.13° |
| Epoch of elements: | 01 January 2000 |
| Mean Anomaly at epoch: | 174.79° |
| Absolute mag (H): | -0.65 [1] |
| Slope parameter (n): | 2.00 [1] |
Derived quantities
| Perihelion: | 0.31 AU |
| Aphelion: | 0.47 AU |
| Orbital period: | 0.24 years |
Sources
| [1] | Robin M. Green, Spherical Astronomy, 1985, ISBN 0-521-31779-7 |
| [2] | Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, 2013, Urban & Seidelmann, Eds., Table 8.7, ISBN 978-1-891389-85-6 |
Visibility from Cambridge
All times shown in Cambridge local time.
Events
| 28 Feb 2025 | – Lunar occultation of Mercury |
| 04 Mar 2025 | – Mercury at perihelion |
| 07 Mar 2025 | – Mercury at dichotomy |
| 08 Mar 2025 | – Mercury at highest altitude in evening sky |
| 07 Mar 2025 | – Mercury at greatest elongation east |
| 24 Mar 2025 | – Mercury at inferior solar conjunction |
| 17 Apr 2025 | – Mercury at aphelion |
| 19 Apr 2025 | – Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky |
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