Mercury in Volcanic Sunset Display.
On Sunday (24th) Mutare experienced another spectacular volcanic sunset display with strong crepuscular rays flanking deep shadows radiating from close to where the Sun had set near Christmas Pass. The sunset display was so bright and colourful that it was assumed the Mercury would not be visible above the glare but several photographs taken with a Panasonic Lumix camera pointed towards the anticipated setting point for Mercury later revealed the faint presence of the planet crossing the most prominent shadow in the display. Five minutes later Mercury could with difficulty be seen with the naked eye descending towards the horizon above the last trace a fading crepuscular ray. This must be one of the most extraordinary sightings of Mercury not yet at greatest elongation in the Southern Hemisphere evening sky.

Hand-held Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 camera in sunset mode.

Image size reduction, very slight enhancement of brightness of Mercury to make it more clearly visible.