Mercury has enjoyed a very favorable apparition in the evening at the beginning of 2022, joining Saturn low in the western sky.  Over the last six days,
Mercury has dimmed significantly and circled around to be well north of the ecliptic.  The result, as can be seen in this image, is that the two are not
as conspicuous as compared to a week ago.  With Saturn at magnitude 0.70 and Mercury at 0.65, they were difficult to see with unaided vision.