Mercury is in the midst of a nice evening apparition, although despite reaching a very respectable elongation from the Sun it does not achieve the heights above the horizon that it does in spring owing to the shallower angle of the ecliptic on June and July evenings.  Nevertheless, it is easily noticeable since it shines at magnitude -0.34 this evening, brighter than all stars save Siris and Canopus.  Note that its positive ecliptic latitude helps its visibility somewhat during this part of its apparition.  Unannotated image.