SkyEye

The upper chart shows the path of Mercury across the background stars over the course of the year. Stars to magnitude +4.5 are shown with some fainter objects included to complete constellation patterns. The white circles represent the planet on the first day of the month and are scaled according to apparent magnitude. The faint paths before the first circle and after the last circle represent the planet's positions in December of last year and January of next. In general, the planet moves from right to left except when it's in retrograde and proceding in the opposite direction. As an inferior planet, Mercury never strays far from the Sun so it always begins and ends the year near the constellation of Sagittarius, located about one quarter of the way in from the left side of the chart.

The lower charts show how the appearance of Mercury changes over the year. Below each image is listed the date, the apparent magnitude, the apparent diameter of the disk (in arc-seconds), the geocentric distance (in au), the elongation from the Sun (in degrees) and the percentage of the disk which is illuminated. Like the Moon, Mercury exhibits a complete range of phases, from new to crescent to gibbous to full and back again. Because its synodic period is around four months, Mercury completes this phase cycle three times each year. Note how Mercury's magnitude varies widely, ranging (approximately) from −2.0 to +6.0 between conjunctions.

Mercury appears in the east before sunrise at the beginning of 2024. It will be a morning sky object three more times this year, alternating with appearances in the west after sunset. Northern temperate observers get their best views of this elusive planet in March and April (evening sky) and August through September (morning sky). The southern hemisphere is treated the sight of Mercury high in east from mid-April to mid-June, with the best evening apparition occuring immediately afterwards, from mid-June to mid-August. Mercury is occulted by the Moon once this year, in March, but is only 10° away from the Sun at the time.

All times and dates are in UT. Positions are geocentric apparent places, referred to the true equator and equinox of date.

• Apparitions of the Inferior Planets from Latitude 50° North
• Apparitions of the Inferior Planets from Latitude 10° North
• Apparitions of the Inferior Planets from Latitude 30° South