Mercury near Maximum Elongation in Conjunction with Asellus Australis.

Mercury reached its maximum elongation, at 05 UTC (7 am in Mutare) on July 4th, 2025. At that time Mercury was 26 degrees from the Sun. Details at https://earthsky.org/tonight/mercury-after-sunset-greatest-elongation-east/ Perfectly clear sky in the evening of July 4th provided very good views between 6.08 and 6.14 pm of Mercury still near maximum elongation in conjunction with the Cancer constellation star Asellus Australis in fading late volcanic sunset glow in the vicinity of Transmitter Hill to the WNW of Mutare.

Tripod-mounted Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 in manual exposure mode.

Compilation of montage of three photographs taken between 6.08 and 6.14 pm. Slight enhancement of brightness of distant celestial objects with 'Star Spikes Pro' filter.