April 21, 2025: Mercury is at greatest elongation today. This occurs in the eastern sky before daybreak.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:01 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 7:39 p.m. CDT. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.
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Northern Hemisphere: Mercury’s View
Mercury reaches greatest elongation at 27.4°. This means that the planet appears farthest from the sun for earthbound sky watchers. In the northern hemisphere, the plane of the solar system, known as the ecliptic, makes a low angle with the eastern horizon. Planets rising before sunrise hang close to the horizon for a few weeks.
Mercury rises 51 minutes before sunrise and appears only 3° above the horizon 20 minutes later. At this time Venus is over 11° above the horizon, with Saturn 4.9° to its lower right. The sky is too bright to see Saturn, even with the optical assist of a binocular, while Mercury’s visibility is heavily filtered by the air across the sky near the horizon.
From Southern Hemisphere
In comparison, southern hemisphere sky watchers see three bright planets in the eastern sky before sunrise. There the ecliptic makes a high angle with the horizon, so that planets are higher in the eastern sky than when viewed from more northerly latitudes. From the latitude at or near Sydney, Australia, the display is striking. Nearing its greatest brilliancy, Venus stands over 20° up in the east-northeast with Saturn 5.0° to its right. Mercury, making its best morning appearance of the year is about 15° up in the east, 9.6° to Venus’ lower right.
On the mornings of the 25th and 26th, the crescent moon joins the three planets. The morning of the 25th is likely the best view when Venus, Saturn and the crescent moon fit into a circle 4.5° in diameter and easily into the same binocular field of view.
Regardless of the hemisphere, look for the morning planets.
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