SKY EVENT · Greatest elongation

Mercury at greatest western elongation, 15 July 2027

Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation on 15 July 2027 around 19:15 UTC: it stands 20.7° from the Sun in the morning sky. This is the best time to observe it, because it is as far from the Sun as it gets before sunrise.

Visibility from Hungary (calculated for Budapest): the best moment to observe is 16 July 2027, 04:15 CEST: the target stands 5° high in the north-east, in twilight, the sky is not fully dark yet. The calculation is for Budapest; elsewhere in the country rise and set times differ by only a few minutes.

In the page's interactive 3D model the time machine jumps to this moment (15 July 2027) and the camera takes the view that fits the event: a sky view from the visitor's city or Budapest. You can freely scrub time forwards and backwards.

Planet positions come from our own approximate calculation (about 0.1-1° accuracy, times within a few hours).