Did I Really See Mercury?

[Jim Leff]

I've been an astronomy buff for 45 years, but never observed Mercury, living in a city with clogged horizons and plenty of ambient light.

On August 1 at a little after 8pm, I was enjoying the view of the Statue of Liberty, due west from Red Hook, Brooklyn, at sunset. While we waited to try to see a green flash, a faint point of light appeared perhaps 5-10 degrees directly above the setting sun. It sure wasn't Venus (too faint), nor was it a star (too much sun light), so I'm figuring it had to be Mercury. It faded pretty quickly...only a few moments of peak brightness. Pretty ghostly!

I don't own any astronomy software to double-check. Is there anyone who can confirm my sighting? I'd sure appreciate it! Sunset that day from Brooklyn was at 8:11pm @ 295°.

[Chris Peterson]

On August 1 at a little after 8pm, I was enjoying the view of the Statue of Liberty, due west from Red Hook, Brooklyn, at sunset. While we waited to try to see a green flash, a faint point of light appeared perhaps 5-10 degrees directly above the setting sun. It sure wasn't Venus (too faint), nor was it a star (too much sun light), so I'm figuring it had to be Mercury. It faded pretty quickly...only a few moments of peak brightness. Pretty ghostly!

I don't own any astronomy software to double-check. Is there anyone who can confirm my sighting? I'd sure appreciate it! Sunset that day from Brooklyn was at 8:11pm @ 295°.

It's certainly possible, depending on what you mean by "directly above". Mercury was 10° from the Sun, up and to the south. About that same distance again you should also have seen Jupiter.

[Jim Leff]

Thanks much, Chris.

I don't remember it being so offset to the south (and it definitely wasn't as high, bright, or sourthward as Jupiter).

But, for one thing, I'm having trouble mentally mapping that image against my memory. Was Mercury skewed more southward from sun position than upward from horizon?

[Jim Leff]

Also, how rare was this? Am I just guilty of being too lazy to keenly watch for Mercury, or is it a rare sighting from a city environment?