July 22, 2024: Mercury is at greatest elongation this evening. Use a binocular to see it during bright twilight. Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and Moon are visible before sunrise.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:36 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:19 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
Mercury at Greatest Elongation
Mercury appears at greatest elongation tonight, appearing farthest from the sun. Since the planet is closer to the sun than earth, and revolves considerably faster, the speedy world seems to wiggle from western evening sky to eastern morning sky. Sky watchers never see it opposite the sun like the moon and the outer planets – Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the dim bodies. Mercury’s appearances always occur during twilight.
The planet’s visibility is affected by long periods of twilight during the summer and a low angle the solar system makes with the horizon during summer and autumn evenings. The best views of the planet occur when the solar system makes high angles with the horizon during the spring months. The low angles and long durations of twilight are complicated by Mercury’s diminishing brightness as it approaches evening greatest elongation.
2024 Evening’s Greatest Elongations
For example, for this year, Mercury was at greatest elongation on March 24th. At sunset it was nearly 18° above the horizon, setting 98 minutes after nightfall, near the end of evening twilight. It was easily visible at 45 minutes after sundown. The planet made its best evening appearance of the year.
This evening, Mercury is 12° above the horizon at sundown. With the longer evening twilight, it is visible with a binocular during brighter evening light and sets during mid-twilight, 69 minutes after sundown.
At the November 16th event, the planet is less than 9° above the horizon, setting 63 minutes after the sun. While evening twilight lasts only 96 minutes, the planet is too low when the sky is dark enough for easy visibility. Again, it is a binocular object.
Use a binocular to see it tonight after sundown.
Here is today’s planet forecast:
Morning Sky
Saturn and Moon before Sunrise
An hour before sunrise, the bright moon, 99% illuminated, is about 15° above the southwest horizon and over 35° to Saturn’s lower right, less than halfway up in the south.
The moon is approaching the Ringed Wonder. For sky watchers in the Americas, the moon brackets the planet on the mornings of the 24th and 25th, and evenings of the 23rd and 24th. It passes directly across the sight line for sky watchers in southeastern Asia, occulting or eclipsing the planet, on the 24th. Across the sky, this morning’s moonlight washes over the dimmer stars.
Jupiter and Mars
Farther eastward, Mars continues to cut the gap to slower moving Jupiter. This is occurring in the eastern sky. Bright Jupiter, over 25° up in the east, is 5.4° to Aldebaran’s upper left and 11.6° to dimmer Mars’ lower left.
Mars marches eastward, 4.8° to Alcyone’s lower left, the Pleiades’ brightest star. The Red Planet passed this star yesterday.
A Binocular View
Mars, Uranus, and the Pleiades are in the same binocular field of view, although Uranus might be a challenge to see. This concludes in a day or so, depending on the binocular’s characteristics. Mars is 4.5° to Uranus’ lower left. The more distant planet is about the same brightness as 13 Tauri (13 Tau on the chart) and 14 Tauri (14 Tau).
Mars is in the same field of view with the Pleiades until the 27th. Slow-moving Uranus is with the Pleiades until 2027.
Orion continues to reappear in the eastern morning sky below the bright planet pair. Bellatrix, one of the shoulders is over 8° above the horizon, while Betelgeuse is less than 4° above the horizon.
Evening Sky
Venus
Venus continues a slow climb into the western evening sky, setting during bright twilight at 46 minutes after sundown.
Mercury at Greatest Elongation with Regulus
At greatest elongation tonight, Mercury is about 5° up in the west at the time Venus sets, dimming each night as it approaches Regulus, Leo’s brightest star, 3.0° to the upper left. Use a binocular to see them.
The speedy planet is beginning to overtake Earth. It passes between Earth and the sun, moving toward its best predawn view of the year.
Saturn and Moon
The gibbous moon, 96% illuminated, rises about 80 minutes after sundown. By three hours after sunset, it is 15° up in the east and nearly 25° to Saturn’s upper right, cutting the distance over 10° between them from this morning to tonight.
Tomorrow morning, the moon is in the south-southwest and closer to Saturn.
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