For northern hemisphere skywatchers, 2021 presents a chance to catch the bright jewel of Mercury in the evening sky.
Start your search on 15 January, when the wafer-thin crescent of the new moon will help point you in the right direction. The moon will be a glorious sliver with just 7.4% of its surface illuminated by sunlight. If you do not see Mercury low in the west that evening, return on subsequent nights at sunset. Mercury will rise higher in the sky each night, becoming easier to spot as it does, but the tradeoff is that it will get dimmer as it climbs into the sky.
The chart shows the view looking south-west at 1700 GMT on 15 January. Mercury will reach its greatest elongation from the sun, and so its highest altitude in the evening sky on 23-24 January, but catching it early in the apparition will allow you to track its movement night after night. From Sydney, Australia, the planet will be all but lost in the sun’s glare. The waxing crescent moon, however, will remain delightful.
