Mercury at greatest eastern elongation, 18 January 2028
Mercury is 18.8° from the Sun — the best time to find it low in the west after sunset.
When
What it is
Mercury and Venus orbit inside the Earth’s orbit, so they never stray far from the Sun. At greatest elongation the angle is at its widest and the planet is easiest to see.
How to see it
Look west 30–60 minutes after sunset with a clear, low horizon. Mercury is bright (magnitude -0.4) but low; binoculars help — but never point them near the Sun.
Check the clouds for that night
See also
Quadrantids meteor shower 2028
Peak night, up to 120 meteors an hour under a dark sky. The Moon (31%) gets in the way for part of the night — watch after it sets.
Mars and Mercury in conjunction, 7 January 2028
Mars and Mercury are just 1° apart — they fit in one binocular view.
Supermoon: Wolf Moon, 12 January 2028
The full Moon is near perigee (360,268 km), so it looks up to 7% bigger and 15% brighter than average.
Partial lunar eclipse 12 January 2028
Visible wherever the Moon is up: the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Mercury at greatest eastern elongation, 16 June 2026
Mercury is 24.5° from the Sun — the best time to find it low in the west after sunset.
Mercury at greatest western elongation, 2 August 2026
Mercury is 19.5° from the Sun — the best time to find it low in the east before sunrise.