The Night Sky This Month – February 2026
(Looking for last month’s ‘Night Sky’? Find it at this link…)
The constellations Orion, Canis Major, Taurus, Perseus, and Auriga dominate the northern sky this month, while southern observers see these same star groups along with Puppis, Carina, and Vela, constellations which harbor some of the best sights the night sky has to offer. You get a chance for a seasonal glimpse the glow of the zodiacal light, the Sun’s light reflected off tiny grains of dust left over from the formation of the solar system. Mercury and Venus make for spectacular viewing with a day-old Moon at mid-month. And Jupiter remains in prime viewing position for all observers. Here’s what to see in the night sky this month…
1 February 2026. Full Moon (the ‘Snow Moon’), 22:09 UT.
2-3 Feb. A day past full, the Moon passes close to Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo. Observers in much of Canada and the United States will see the Moon occult the star. Detailed timing for hundreds of locations at this link.
4 Feb. Uranus reaches its second stationary point. It now resumes its eastward prograde motion in the constellation Taurus about 5o south of the Pleiades.
3-17 Feb. As the Moon moves out of the way in the evening sky, northern observers far from city lights can spot the zodiacal light in the western sky after sunset. This whitish wedge-shaped glow emerges at a steep angle to the western horizon this time of year. It’s caused by sunlight reflected by fine dust grains along the plane of the solar system. The zodiacal light is brightest closer to the Sun, so look for it about half an hour after the end of evening twilight as it extends up from the horizon towards the constellation Taurus.
6 Feb. The fat waning gibbous Moon passes near the bright star Spica in Virgo low in the southeastern sky in the late evening hours.
9 Feb. Last Quarter Moon, 12:43 UT.
11 Feb. The Moon again passes near a bright star, this time Antares, in the early-morning sky in the southeast. Behind it lies the southern Milky Way now slowly coming into view for northern-hemisphere observers.
16 Feb. Saturn lies about a degree south of Neptune in the western sky after sunset.
17 Feb. New Moon, 12:01 UT.
17 Feb. An annular (ringed) solar eclipse passes in a narrow band across Antarctica. Observers in southern Chile and Argentina, and in southern Africa, can see a partial solar eclipse (with the proper safety equipment). Detailed timing at this link.
18 Feb. Grab a pair of binoculars and head out just after sunset to see Mercury graze a day-old Moon in the western sky with Venus about 7o below. Saturn lies to the upper left of Mercury. Venus returns to the evening sky after a long absence and gets higher each night. It shines tonight at magnitude -3.9 in Aquarius low over the horizon.
19 Feb. Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation about 18o from the Sun.
19 Feb. Saturn lies 4o south of a slender crescent moon in the western sky after sunset. Low now and growing distant, the planet offers scant detail in a telescope as it moves closer each night towards the Sun.
24 Feb. First Quarter Moon, 12:28 UT.
26 Feb. The fattening Moon sits 5o northwest of brilliant Jupiter in the evening sky. The big planet shines now at a spectacular magnitude -2.5 and offers a fat disk about 44” across in a telescope.