Mercury Sightings - Details for 2026

Mercury has six elongations in 2026. The initial sighting by Joe Stieber for each of these is tabulated below:

Elongation #4

● The first sighting of the fourth elongation for 2026 (the 99th elongation in a row overall) was on August 1, 2026, from Swede Run in Moorestown, NJ. Sky conditions were not particularly favorable, with poor transparency, some ground fog and streaky thin clouds. Initially, I went to Marter Ave, but heavy ground fog rendered the site unusable, so I headed to nearby Swede Run. Astronomical twilight would begin at 4:10 am EDT and sunrise would be at 5:58 am. Mercury was first spotted at 4:48 am with 18x70 binoculars and later, as I followed its diagonal rising, with 12x50s at 5:04 am. It was not seen with unaided eyes. Mercury was found by dropping down from Cappella to Castor and Pollux, sweeping right and then down a little. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 2°53′ altitude, 66° azimuth, magnitude +0.35, 7.8″ diameter and 36% illuminated. Solar elongation was 19.4° and the ecliptic had a moderate tilt of 57° to the horizon. Mercury's ecliptic latitude was -2.0°. Also spotted were the planets Uranus (with 18x70s) and Mars (with 18x70s, 12x50s and vaguely with unaided eyes through the haze).

● The second sighting of the fourth elongation for 2026 was on August 15, 2026, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ. Sky conditions were not too bad with no clouds, average transparency and just some murkiness along the eastern horizon. Astronomical twilight would begin at 4:30 am EDT and sunrise would be at 6:11 am. At the time, magnitude -1.6 Mercury was just 33.5 arc minutes from magnitude -1.8 Jupiter (see the S&T image below). Dropping down from Castor and Pollux in Gemini, Jupiter was first spotted with 15x56 binoculars about 5:20 am, then higher Mercury emerged from behind some trees at 5:21 am. The two planets easily fit in the 4.5° field of the binoculars. At 5:23 am, the pair was spotted with unaided eyes, and ultimately followed until 5:30 am in brightening twilight, but less murky sky. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 2°00′ altitude, 67° azimuth, magnitude -1.21, 5.6″ diameter and 85% illuminated. Solar elongation was 12.6° and the ecliptic had a moderate tilt of 64° to the horizon. Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +1.0°. An hour earlier at Atsion, the planets Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Mars were spotted.

Elongation #3

● The first sighting of the third elongation for 2026 (the 98th elongation in a row overall) was on May 28, 2026, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ. The sky was clear, with just a little hazy cloudiness along the western  horizon. Sunset was at 8:19 pm EDT. Mercury was first spotted at 8:50 pm with 12x50 binoculars, then unaided eyes, using bright Venus and Jupiter, about 18° and 30° eastward along the ecliptic respectively, as a guide. Note: I was trying my new distance-vision eyeglasses with a slight negative diopter and astigmatism corrections; Mercury was in better focus and therefore a bit easier to see with the glasses. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 8°28′ altitude, 296° azimuth, magnitude -0.80, 5.8″ diameter and 77% illuminated. Solar elongation was 16.3°, the ecliptic had a moderately steep tilt of 56° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +2.0°.

● The second sighting of the third elongation for 2026 was on May 29, 2026, from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ. The sky was generally clear, with only a little haze along the western horizon. Sunset was at 8:20 am EDT. Mercury was first spotted at 8:52 pm with 12x50 binoculars, again by dropping westward along the ecliptic from Venus and Jupiter. It was picked up with unaided eyes (plus eyeglasses) at 8:58 pm. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 8°58′ altitude, 296° azimuth, magnitude -0.72, 5.9″ diameter and 75% illuminated. Solar elongation was 17.2°, the ecliptic had a moderately steep tilt of 52° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was +2.1°.

● The third through seventh sightings of the third elongation for 2026 were on June 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, 2026, all from Bishops Gate in Mt Laurel, NJ, all with 12x50 binoculars (except 8x42 on June 5), and on each date, also with unaided eyes. I won't elaborate on the usual details.

Elongation #2

● The first sighting of the second elongation for 2026 (the 97th elongation in a row overall) was on March 29, 2026, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ. The sky was clear, even along the eastern horizon. Sunrise would be at 6:49 am EDT. Mercury was first spotted at 6:04 am with 12x50 binoculars, located by dropping down from the middle of the Summer Triangle, high overhead. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 2°27′ altitude, 102° azimuth, magnitude +0.53, 8.4″ diameter and 41% illuminated. Solar elongation was 27.0°, the ecliptic had a relatively shallow tilt of 27° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was –0.9°.

● The second sighting of the second elongation for 2026 was on April 6, 2026, from Marter Ave in Mt Laurel, NJ. The sky was generally clear, but there were streaky clouds along the eastern horizon. Sunrise would be at 6:36 am EDT. Mercury was first spotted at 6:09 am with 12x50 binoculars, located by dropping down from the star Vega, high overhead. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 5°06′ altitude, 102° azimuth, magnitude +0.23, 7.2″ diameter and 55% illuminated. Solar elongation was 27.5°, the ecliptic had a relatively shallow tilt of 27° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was –2.1°.

● The third sighting of the second elongation for 2026 was on April 8, 2026, from Carranza Field in Wharton State Forest, NJ. The sky was clear with a 67% waning gibbous Moon to the south. Sunrise would be at 6:32 am EDT. Mercury was first spotted at 6:01 am with 12x50 binoculars, then observed with a 35x115 spotting scope. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 4°00′ altitude, 100° azimuth, magnitude +0.20, 7.1″ diameter and 57% illuminated. Solar elongation was 27.3°, the ecliptic had a relatively shallow tilt of 27° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was –2.2°.

● The fourth sighting of the second elongation for 2026 was on April 12, 2026, from Thompson's Beach, on the north shore of the Delaware Bay in NJ. The sky was clear with a 29% waning crescent Moon low in the southeast. The sky along the eastern horizon was a little murky. Sunrise would be at 6:27 am EDT. Mercury was first spotted at 5:39 am with 18x70 binoculars, then observed until 5:55 am, using it as a guide to look for nearby Mars (unsuccessful). When initially sighted, Mercury was at 0°26′ altitude (about a quarter of a degree), 94° azimuth, magnitude +0.07, 6.6″ diameter and 63% illuminated. Solar elongation was 26.0°, the ecliptic had a relatively shallow tilt of 26° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was –2.5°.

Elongation #1

● The first sighting of the first elongation for 2026 (the 96th elongation in a row overall) was on February 5, 2026, from Walton Ave (near Bishops Gate) in Mt Laurel, NJ. The sky was clear with just a small amount murky haze along the southwest horizon towards sunset, which was at 5:24 pm EST. Mercury was first spotted at 5:39 pm with 12x50 binoculars, about 4° from Venus at the 11 o'clock position. Venus (mag –3.9) was first sighted at 5:20 pm with 18x70 binoculars. Neither was seen with unaided eyes before they set at 5:56 pm and 6:16 pm for Venus and Mercury respectively. When initially sighted, Mercury was at 6°19′ altitude, 247° azimuth, magnitude –1.14, 5.3″ diameter and 92% illuminated. Solar elongation was 11.2°, the ecliptic had a relatively steep tilt of 67.4° to the horizon and Mercury's ecliptic latitude was –1.5°.

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At the end of 2025, the sighting streak was 95 elongations in a row, completing fifteen calendar year of spotting Mercury at every elongation beginning in January 2011. There are six or seven elongations per year. The years 2011, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2024 each had seven (7) elongations, while 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2025 each had six (6), as does 2026. Those 95 elongations in a 15 year span average 6.33 elongations per year. Click here for sightings in 2025. The purpose of this ongoing effort is not to set a record, especially since I have no idea what sort of record might exist. My note to Gary Seronik that was published in S&T magazine (see the 2022 Mercury page) yielded no responses. Regardless, it demonstrates that locating and seeing Mercury is not nearly as difficult as many suppose. It just takes a little planning and effort, although circumstances make some elongations easy and some difficult.

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Last Update: Sunday, August 16, 2026 at 05:08 PM Eastern Time