The Night Sky - February 2026

This month all the naked eye visible planets, but Mars, are visible in the evening sky. Mercury will be in the SW twilight all month, Venus in the WSW after the middle of the month. Jupiter will be in the E at dusk and set in the NW after 5 AM. Saturn will be in the W at dusk and set after 8 PM.  Mars is still on the far side of the Sun from us.

Feb 1 is the Full Moon (Tom Cod Spawning Moon) and M44 (the Beehive Cluster) will be close to the Moon. On the 2nd, the Moon will occult (cross in front of) Regulus (the brightest star in Leo). Zodiacal light may be visible in the W after twilight for a couple of weeks. The Moon is at Last Quarter on the 9th and reaches apogee (furthest from the Earth) on the 10th, it also occults Antares (red star in Scorpius) and the Curtis X is visible (RASC.ca  Explore the Moon). New Moon is on the 17th and there will be an Annular Solar Eclipse in Antarctica (a very young crescent Moon might be visible in the W). Both Venus and Mercury will be passed by the Moon the next day. On the 19th Mercury will highest in the sky and divided between light and dark equally (Dichotomy).The Moon will come very close to the Pleiades on the 23 and is at First Quarter on the 24th, Mercury is stationary on the 25th, Mercury and Venus are very close on the 26th with the Moon and Jupiter on the 27th.

On February 28th, six planets are visible in the evening sky: Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Jupiter. This is not that common so try to see them, maybe take a photo. You will need more than just your eyes for Neptune and Uranus.

This month there is a lot going on around the Moon. Not only are there planets and bright stars it will pass in front of, the Artemis II astronauts will also be passing around the Moon. The 4 person crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency).

First Launch Window is February 6, 2026.

This is the first human crewed mission to go to or beyond the Moon since the early 1970s. Many of us alive then had expected a presence on the Moon to have been established then but the political will was not there. Now, none of the surviving spacecraft are fit to make the journey. So new things had to be developed and tested. Artemis is the sister of Apollo, so these flights continue from Apollo and will have women on the flights. 

Artemis II has the astronauts in Earth orbit for the first day. They will be testing equipment ‘close to home’ in case something unexpected does happen. Then they will use most of their fuel to leave Earth and head out beyond the Moon. The Moon’s gravity turns the capsule back toward Earth. The crew will be observing the Moon and taking lots of photographs. Perhaps they will create something as powerful as ‘Earth rise’ or ‘Pillars of Life’. Theirs will be the first human eyes to see all of the Far Side and they going to see it fully lit by the Sun. Something no one else here on Earth has done, ever. The Apollo astronauts orbited too close to the surface to see the whole Far Side. Human brains see patterns and other anomalies. The astronauts are looking out for those — something the camera might not tell them. And there are some areas on the poles of the Moon that have never even been photographed! How much water might there be?

These four astronauts will also test the space weather readiness shelter and some new exercise equipment that should be adaptable for everyone.

Returning to the Moon allows for training and plans for Mars. If a base or colony can be maintained on the Moon, we have a better chance of repeating that on Mars. Mining on the Moon may make some elements that are rare on Earth more accessible. Launching spacecraft deeper into the Solar system would be easier from a space base or the Moon as the gravity is less.

So, if you do observe the Moon this month, think of Artemis, the Moon goddess while you do.

Clear Skies.