Mercury is at easternmost elongation,
But, as shown in the comparative graph of Mercury’s morning and evening performances in this and adjacent years, on page 104 of Astronomical Calendar 2026, this is one of the cases where the elusive little planet’s long leap outward from the Sun is at a favorable angle for south-hemisphere observers and very unfavorable for us in the north. Mercury is brighter than most first-magnitude stars, but is down at the horizon before the sky has darkened.
__________
ILLUSTRATIONS in these posts are made with precision but have to be inserted in another format. You may be able to enlarge them on your monitor.
One way: right-click, and choose ”View image” or ”Open image in new tab”, then enlarge. Or choose ”Copy image”, then put it on your desktop, then open it. On an iPad or phone, use the finger gesture that enlarges (spreading with two fingers, or tapping and dragging with three fingers). Other methods have been suggested, such as dragging the image to the desktop and opening it in other ways.
Sometimes I make improvements or corrections to a post after publishing it. If you click on the title, rather than on ‘Read more’, I think you are sure to see the latest version. Or, if you click ‘Refresh’ or press function key 5, you’ll see the version change to the latest.