Stargazers are in for a rare celestial treat this weekend as the elusive planet Mercury makes a brief appearance beside a delicate crescent moon in the evening sky. Visible from just after sunset on Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27, this conjunction offers one of the best opportunities of the year to spot the tiny planet, which is usually lost in the sun’s glare.
Mercury will shine close to a crescent moon this week.
To see the moon and Mercury together, skywatchers should look toward the west-northwest horizon about 45 minutes after sunset on both Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27.
A clear view low to the horizon will be needed, as will clear skies. Be sure to start looking on time, as Mercury will quickly dip below the horizon.
Mercury, though dim compared to the moon, will remain visible to the naked eye for those with a clear view of the horizon.
Mercury is notoriously hard to spot. As the closest planet to the sun, it never strays far from our star from our perspective on Earth and is often lost in the brightness of twilight.
Late on Friday, June 27, also sees the peak of the Boötid meteor shower, a minor meteor display during which a few shooting stars may be spotted coming from the constellation Boötes.
Thursday, June 26: Crescent Moon, Mercury And Gemini
On Thursday, June 26, a slim waxing crescent moon, only 3.4% illuminated, will hang low in the sky between Mercury and the bright stars Castor and Pollux, the “twin” stars of the constellation Gemini. The four celestial bodies will be within a few degrees of one another, forming a compact, eye-catching cluster that will be easy to see with the naked eye. On Friday, June 27, the moon will have grown slightly to a 9%-lit waxing crescent and will appear just above and to the right of Mercury.
Friday, June 27: Crescent Moon And Mercury
Although it's Mercury that's the rare sight, on Friday, June 27, the crescent moon will be higher in a darker sky, making it easier to spot. It will also be arguably at its most beautiful, with its darkened face glowing faintly thanks to a phenomenon known as Earthshine — sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds, ice caps and oceans back onto the moon’s night side.
A joint mission by the European Space Agency and the Japanese Space Agency, the BepiColumbo spacecraft will go intoorbit around Mercury in November 2026 to study its extreme temperatures, magnetic field and mysterious polar ice.Comprising two spacecraft — ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter — they will separate from the chassis before they enter different orbits around Mercury. BepiColombo sent back images of Mercury after a brief flyby of the planet in January this year.