Young Crescent Moon with Mercury later visible in Volcanic Sunset.

Perfectly clear skies in the evening on Friday 27th June allowed the two-day old Waxing Crescent Supermoon and Mercury to be observed fairly close together in a fading volcanic sunset behind Transmitter Hill near Mutare. Unlike on the previous day when the Moon was very thin and only briefly visible before it set behind the mountain, the now broader 6% illuminated crescent could be observed for more than three quarters of an hour from 5.28 until darkness at 6.15 pm. As the light started to fade at about 5.45 pm, Mercury appeared and the Moon developed bright Earthshine providing good views of the loose conjunction descending above receding volcanic sunset glow.

Tripod-mounted Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 in sunset and manual exposure modes.

Compilation of montage of eight selected photographs taken between 5.33 and 6.13 pm.