DELTA-V // PLANETARY FIX
Mercury is 206 million km away
That is 1.37 astronomical units, and light from it takes 11.4 minutes to reach you. Computed for this moment rather than quoted as an average — Mercury’s distance from Earth changes constantly, and an average is wrong on almost every day of the year.
COMPUTED 2026-08-30 21:41:02Z · RECOMPUTED EVERY 15 MINUTES
Right now
- DISTANCE
- 1.37 AU
- 206 million km
- LIGHT TIME
- 11.4 min
- one way
- BRIGHTNESS
- -1.6
- optics needed
- APPARENT SIZE
- 4.9″
- 368× smaller than the Moon
- LIT
- 99%
- of the disc
- FROM THE SUN
- 4°
- angular separation
- IN THE SKY
- hidden
- lost in the glare
- SUN DISTANCE
- 0.37 AU
- its own orbit
What Mercury is actually like
Airless and tidally battered. The largest day–night temperature swing in the solar system.
- TEMPERATURE
- +167 °CMean, at the surface, mean
- PRESSURE
- —Effectively none — a surface-bound exosphere of about 10⁻¹⁵ bar
- WINDS
- noneNo atmosphere to move
- ONE DAY
- 176 Earth daysSunrise to sunrise
- ATMOSPHERE
- Oxygen, sodium, hydrogen, helium, potassium — a trace exosphere
PUBLISHED REFERENCE VALUES FROM NASA FACT SHEETS · NOT LIVE READINGS · NO SPACECRAFT REPORTS LIVE WEATHER FROM MERCURY
Common questions
How far away is Mercury right now?
Mercury is 206 million kilometres from Earth at the moment — 1.37 astronomical units, or 11 light-minutes. That figure changes constantly as both planets move: this page recomputes it rather than quoting an average, because an average is wrong on almost every day of the year.
Can I see Mercury tonight?
Not at the moment. Mercury is only 4 degrees from the Sun in the sky, which puts it in the glare for practical purposes. It becomes observable again as that angle opens up.
How long does light take to reach us from Mercury?
11.4 minutes at the moment. You are always seeing Mercury as it was that long ago, and the delay changes as the distance does — it is a direct consequence of the 206 million kilometres between us.
How hot is Mercury?
+167°C on average, measured at the surface, mean. Effectively none — a surface-bound exosphere of about 10⁻¹⁵ bar. This is a published reference value rather than a live reading — no spacecraft currently reports live weather from Mercury, and nothing on this page pretends otherwise.
How big does Mercury look from Earth?
4.9 arcseconds across right now. For scale, the full Moon is about 1,800 arcseconds — so Mercury is roughly 368 times smaller than the Moon in apparent size, which is why it looks like a point of light without a telescope.