Looking for a telescope for the next night sky event? We recommend the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ as the top pick for basic astrophotography in our best beginner's telescope guide.
The night sky tonight and on any clear night offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects you can see, from stars and constellations to bright planets, the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers.
Observing the night sky can be done with no special equipment, although a sky map can be very useful, and a good telescope or binoculars will enhance some experiences and bring some otherwise invisible objects into view. You can also use astronomy accessories to make your observing easier, and use our Satellite Tracker page powered by N2YO.comto find out when and how to see the International Space Station and other satellites. We also have a helpful guide on how you can see and track a Starlink satellite train.
You can also capture the night sky by using any of the best cameras for astrophotography, along with a selection of the best lenses for astrophotography.
Read on to find out what's up in the night sky tonight (planets visible now, moon phases, observing highlights this month) plus other resources (skywatching terms, night sky observing tips and further reading)
Related: The brightest planets in February's night sky: How to see them (and when)
Monthly skywatching information is provided to Space.com by Chris Vaughan of Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu and Chris at @Astrogeoguy
Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo and would like to share them with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
Calendar of observing highlights
Saturday, Feb. 1 - Crescent Moon with Brilliant Venus and Faint Neptune (early evening)
The western sky after sunset on Saturday, Feb. 1 will offer a pretty sight when the slim crescent moon will shine close to the brilliant planet Venus, while the medium-bright, yellowish dot of Saturn shines about a fist's diameter below them (or 10 degrees to their celestial southwest). After the sky darkens fully, around 6:30 p.m. EST, the faint, blue speck of distant Neptune might be glimpsed one lunar diameter to the moon's lower left (or 0.7 degrees to its celestial south). The moon and the two planets will form a line that easily fits within the field of view of binoculars (inset, orange circle), but a telescope will be needed to see Neptune well. Due to the moon's orbital motion, by about its own diameter every hour, the moon will move above Neptune and to Venus' left in more westerly time zones.
Monday, Feb. 3 - Jupiter Completes a Retrograde Loop (all night)
On Monday, Feb. 3, the very bright planet Jupiter will temporarily cease its motion (dotted line) through the background stars of central Taurus - marking the end of a westward retrograde loop that it began in early October. The planet will be gleaming high in the southern sky every evening. After tonight, Jupiter will resume its regular eastward motion and travel between the horns of Taurus. Retrograde loops occur when Earth, on a faster orbit closer to the sun, passes more distant solar system objects "on the inside track", making them appear to move backwards across the stars for a period of time. Jupiter's loop covered about a fist's diameter, or 10 degrees, of the ecliptic.
Wednesday, Feb. 5 - First Quarter Moon (at 08:02 GMT)
The moon will complete the first quarter of its 29.53-day journey around Earth on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 3:02 a.m. EST, or 12:02 a.m. PST, or 08:02 GMT. At first quarter, the moon's 90-degree angle from the sun causes us to see it half-illuminated on its eastern side. First quarter moons always rise around mid-day and set around midnight, so they are also visible in the afternoon daytime sky. The evenings surrounding the first quarter phase are the best ones for seeing the spectacular lunar terrain when it is lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary that separates the moon's lit and dark hemispheres.
Wednesday, Feb. 5 - Moon Crosses the Pleiades (overnight)
On Wednesday night, Feb. 5, skywatchers in North America west of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kansas City, Missouri can watch the orbital motion (green dotted line) of the bright, 60%-illuminated, waxing gibbous moon carry it through the Pleiades star cluster (aka Messier 45, Subaru, and the Seven Sisters). In the Central Time zone, the moon will be getting ready to set in the west when it first contacts the cluster around 1 a.m. CST. In the Mountain Time zone the moon will reach the centre of the cluster when it sets around 2 a.m. MST. Lucky observers in the Pacific Time zone will see the entire event in the western sky between about 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. PST. While bright moonlight overwhelms fainter objects, viewing the encounter through binoculars (orange circle), will show the "sisters" well, but not the blue nebulosity shown here. Skywatchers in other parts of the world will see the moon shining close to the cluster
Thursday, Feb. 6 - Moon Shines above Jupiter (evening)
As the sky darkens after sunset on Thursday evening, Feb. 6, the bright planet Jupiter will shine less than a palm's width below (or 5 degrees to the celestial south of) the waxing gibbous moon high in the southern sky — close enough to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). By early evening, the bright stars of winter will appear around them, particularly yellowish Capella well to their upper left (or celestial north) and reddish Aldebaran just to their lower right (celestial south). Those stars are part of the huge winter hexagon asterism. The moon and Jupiter will culminate due south around 8 p.m. local time and set in the west in the wee hours of Friday morning.
Friday, Feb. 7 - Moon Brushes the Bull's Horn (evening)
On Friday evening, Feb. 7 in the Americas, the bright, gibbous moon will shine closely below (or celestial south of) the bright star Elnath. That blue giant star serves to mark both the upper horn-tip of Taurus, the Bull, and the southern end of the roughly oval shape of Auriga, the Charioteer, thus giving it the twin astronomical designations of Beta Tauri and Gamma Aurigae. The star is located 134 light-years from our sun. Binoculars (orange circle) will show the star against the glare of the moon. The moon's eastward orbital motion will carry it farther from the star in more westerly time zones.
Sunday, Feb. 9 - Moon Menaces Mars (all night)
In the eastern sky after dusk on Sunday evening, Feb. 9, the bright, nearly full moon will be shining a short distance to the lower left (or celestial east) of the bright reddish planet Mars — close enough for them to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Gemini's bright stars Castor and Pollux will twinkle to their left (or celestial northeast). The grouping will climb high in the southern sky around 10:30 p.m. local time and then set in the west before dawn on Monday. By then the orbital motion of the moon and the diurnal rotation of the sky will shift the moon farther from and above Mars. Hours before it rises in the Eastern Time zone, the moon will occult Mars for observers located in the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, most of Scandinavia, most of Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and most of China. Lunar occultations of planets are safe to observe with unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the timings where you live.
Wednesday, Feb. 12 - Full Snow Moon (at 13:53 GMT)
February's full moon will occur on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 8:53 a.m. EST, 5:53 a.m. PST, or 13:53 GMT. In the Americas the moon will appear full on both Tuesday and Wednesday evening. The indigenous Anishnaabe (Ojibwe and Chippewa) people of the Great Lakes region call the February full moon Namebini-giizis "Sucker Fish Moon" or Mikwa-giizis, the "Bear Moon". For them it signifies a time to discover how to see beyond reality and to communicate through energy rather than sound. The Algonquin call it Wapicuummilcum, the "Ice in River is Gone" moon. The Cree of North America call it Kisipisim, the "the Great Moon", a time when the animals remain hidden away and traps are empty. For Europeans, it is known as the Snow Moon or Hunger Moon. Full moons during the winter months climb as high at midnight as the summer noonday sun, and cast similar shadows.
Friday, Feb. 14 - Evening Zodiacal Light (after dusk)
If you live in a location where the sky is free of light pollution, you might be able to spot the Zodiacal Light during the two weeks that precede the new moon on Feb. 27. Starting on Friday, Feb. 14, after the evening twilight has faded, you'll have about half an hour to check the western sky for a broad wedge of faint light extending upwards from the horizon and centered on the ecliptic below the planet Venus. That glow is the zodiacal light - sunlight scattered from countless small particles of material that populate the plane of our solar system. Don't confuse it with the brighter Milky Way, which extends upwards from the northwestern evening horizon at this time of year.
Friday, Feb. 14 - Goddess of Love at Greatest Brilliance (pre-dawn)
For several hours after sunset on Friday, Feb. 14, Venus will shine in the western sky at its greatest illuminated extent for the current evening apparition. In a telescope, the planet will show a 27%-illuminated waning crescent phase and an apparent disk size of 39 arc-seconds. Even with a less than fully-illuminated disk (inset), Venus' nearness to Earth of only 0.425 Astronomical Units (39.5 million miles or 63. 6 million km) will boost its brightness to a brilliant magnitude -4.85.
Sunday, Feb. 16 - Watch Algol Fade (from 6:56 to 11:56 pm EST)
The star Algol in the constellation of Perseus represents the glowing eye of Medusa from Greek mythology. Also designated Beta Persei, it is among the most accessible variable stars for skywatchers. During a ten-hour period that repeats like clockwork every 2 days, 20 hours, and 49 minutes, Algol dims noticeably and re-brightens by about a third when a fainter companion star with an orbit nearly edge-on to Earth crosses in front of its much brighter primary, reducing the total light output we perceive. Algol normally shines at magnitude 2.1, similar to the nearby star Almach (aka Gamma Andromedae).
But while fully dimmed, Algol's brightness of magnitude 3.4 is almost identical to Rho Persei (or Gorgonea Tertia or ρ Per), the star sitting just two finger widths to Algol's lower right (or 2.25 degrees to the celestial south). On Sunday evening, Feb. 16 at 6:56 p.m. EST (or 23:56 GMT), Algol will start to fade from its usual brightness. At that time it will be shining very high in the western sky, below the bright star Capella. Five hours later, at 11:56 p.m. EST (or 04:56 GMT on Monday), Algol will have faded to its minimum brightness. Its location at that time will be in the lower part of the northwestern sky
Sunday, Feb. 16 - Moon approaches Spica (late night)
When the waning gibbous moon rises in late evening on Sunday, Feb. 16, it will be shining to the upper right (or celestial west) of Virgo's brightest star Spica. As the night wears on the moon will shift closer to the star while Earth's rotation carries them west, where they will set after sunrise on Monday. Meanwhile, skywatchers in a zone stretching across the South Pacific Ocean can watch the moon occult Spica in the middle of the night. Lunar occultations of stars are safe to observe with unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the timings where you live.
Monday, Feb. 17 - The Stars of Orion's Belt (evening)
Orion's three belt stars are bright enough to tolerate tonight's moonlight. They may look similar, but they are quite different, under closer inspection. The left-most (easterly) of the three, magnitude 1.85 Alnitak (Zeta Orionis) is bluer. In a telescope, Alnitak (Arabic for "the Girdle") is revealed to be a very tight magnitude 1.85 double star. At 1,976 light-years from our sun, the middle star, Alnilam (Epsilon Orionis) is more than twice as far away as the other two. At the right-hand (western) end of the row, magnitude 2.4 Mintaka (Delta Orionis) is a more widely spaced double star. Using binoculars (orange circle) look for a large, upright, S-shaped asterism of dim stars in the space between Alnilam and Mintaka. The medium-bright star sitting less than a finger's width below (or 0.8 degrees southwest of) Alnitak is Sigma Orionis, a beautiful little grouping of ten or more stars.
Tuesday, Feb. 18 - The Spectacular Orion Nebula (overnight)
The bright stars of mighty Orion, the Hunter, shine in the southern sky on mid-February evenings. The sword of Orion, which covers an area of 1.5 by 1 degrees (about the end of your thumb held up at arm's length), descends from Orion's three-starred belt. The patch of light in the middle of the sword is the spectacular and bright nebula known as the Orion Nebula or Messier 42 and NGC 1976. While simple binoculars will reveal the fuzzy nature of this object, medium-to-large aperture telescopes (green circle) will show a complex pattern of veil-like gas and dark dust lanes and the Trapezium Cluster, a tight clump of young stars that formed inside the nebula. Adding an Oxygen-III or broadband nebula filter will reveal even more details. The nebula and the stars forming within it are approximately 1,350 light-years from the sun, in the Orion arm of our Milky Way galaxy.
Thursday, Feb. 20 - Third Quarter Moon (at 17:32 GMT)
The moon will complete three quarters of its orbit around Earth, measured from the previous new moon, on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 12:32 p.m. EST or 9:32 a.m. PST, or 17:32 GMT. At the third (or last) quarter phase the moon appears half-illuminated, on its western, sunward side. It will rise around midnight local time, and then remain visible until it sets in the western daytime sky in early afternoon. Third quarter moons are positioned ahead of the Earth in our trip around the Sun. About 3½ hours later, Earth will occupy that same location in space. The week of dark, moonless evening skies that follow this phase are ideal for observing fainter deep sky targets.
Friday, Feb. 21 - Crescent Moon nears Antares (pre-dawn)
Early risers on Friday morning, Feb. 21 can look in the southeastern sky to see the pretty sight of the waning crescent moon shining close to Antares. The duo will be cozy enough to share the view in binoculars (orange circle). That luminous reddish star located 550 light-years from our sun marks the heart of Scorpius. Observers located on Easter Island and southern South America can watch the moon occult Antares with unaided eyes, binoculars, and telescopes. Use an app like Starry Night to look up the timings where you live
Sunday, Feb. 23 - Mars Reverses Course (all night)
On Sunday night, Feb. 23, the bright reddish planet Mars will cease its westward motion through the stars of northern Gemini, ending a retrograde loop (red path with labeled dates:time) that began in early December. From this point on, Mars will ramp up its regular easterly prograde motion below the bright stars Castor and Pollux. The red planet will be shining brightly high in the southeastern sky each evening.
Monday, Feb. 24 - Mercury Climbs past Saturn (after sunset)
On the evenings surrounding Monday, Feb. 24, the swift orbital motion of the planet Mercury (dotted red path) will carry it upwards past Saturn, and close enough for the two planets to share the view in a low magnification telescope. After the sun has completely set from Sunday through Wednesday, use binoculars (orange circle) to look for the two planets shining just above the western horizon. Mercury, which will be about 8 times brighter than Saturn, will be closest to Saturn on Monday and Tuesday.
Thursday, Feb. 27 - New Moon (at 7:45 PM EST)
The moon will reach its new phase on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7:45 p.m. EST or 4:45 p.m. PST, which converts to 00:45 GMT on Friday. At that time our natural satellite will be located in Aquarius and only 1.9 degrees south of the sun. While new, the moon is travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only reach the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, the moon becomes unobservable from anywhere on Earth for about a day (except during a solar eclipse). On the evenings following the new moon phase, Earth's planetary partner will return to shine in the western sky after sunset. This new moon will mark the lunar new year in China, who will celebrate the Year of the Snake.
Friday, Feb. 28 - Young Moon between Mercury and Saturn (after sunset)
Mercury will continue to climb higher above Saturn in the western sky after sunset each evening (red dotted path). For observers in the Americas on Friday, Feb. 28, the very young crescent moon will pose between the two planets. All three objects will fit within the field of view of certain models of binoculars (orange circle).
Visible planets in February
Mercury
Mercury will pass the sun at superior conjunction on Feb. 9 and then enter the western evening sky. Its orbit won't swing it far enough from the sun to make it visible against the twilight until the latter third of the month, when it will commence its best evening apparition of the year for Northern Hemisphere observers. Through the end of February and beyond, Mercury will diminish in brightness. Telescope views will show a waning, nearly full disk that grows to 6 arc-seconds wide at month's end. On Feb. 24-25, Mercury will pass Saturn in a close conjunction that will be difficult to observe due to the bright sky and haze above the horizon. On Feb. 28, the very slim crescent moon will pose between Mercury and Saturn, with all three objects forming a vertical line just above the western horizon after sunset.
Venus
Venus will continue to dominate the western, early evening sky during February, but the planet will be slowly returning sunward, lowering it in the sky, decreasing its elongation from 45 to 31 degrees, and advancing its 9 p.m. setting time by about half an hour. On Feb. 14, Venus will shine at a brilliant magnitude -4.9 while at its greatest illuminated extent for the current evening apparition. Viewed in strong binoculars or a backyard telescope, the planet will show a crescent phase that wanes from 37% to 15% illumination, and a disk that swells in size from 32.4 to 48.7 arc-seconds. On Feb. 1, Venus will be positioned only 3 degrees to the celestial north of Neptune. That evening, the crescent moon will be located directly between them. For the rest of February, the westward migration of the sky will cause Venus to move away from Neptune and to travel along the stars that form Pisces' western fish. Venus will reverse that course when it begins to travel retrograde on Feb. 28.
Mars
Mars will spend February shining all night long, climbing the eastern sky in the evening, and setting in the west before dawn. The red planet will move several degrees through central Gemini, producing a varying triangle on the right (or celestial southwest) side of the prominent, but less bright stars Pollux and Castor. On Feb. 24, Mars will complete its westerly retrograde loop by temporarily standing still before it ramps up to its regular eastward prograde motion. Now that opposition has passed and our distance to Mars is increasing daily, Mars will halve in brightness from magnitude -1.0 to -0.3 during February. Viewed in a telescope, the red planet will show a rusty-colored disk with hints of dark markings. Its apparent size will shrink from 13.6 to 10.9 arc-seconds. On Feb. 9 in the Americas, the bright, nearly full moon will shine a short distance to the lower left (or celestial east) of Mars. Hours before it rises in the Eastern Time zone, the moon will occult Mars for observers located in the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, most of Scandinavia, most of Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and most of China.
Jupiter
The extremely bright planet Jupiter will be well-placed for observing during February. The gas giant will gleam high in the southern sky during the evening and set in the hours after midnight. Jupiter will spend the month positioned a palm's width above (or about 5 degrees to the celestial north of) Taurus' brightest star, orange Aldebaran. As February commences, the planet will be halting its westerly motion, ending on Feb. 4 a retrograde loop that it began in early October. The planet will ramp up to its regular eastward motion over the rest of the month. Binoculars will reveal Jupiter's four large Galilean moons flanking the planet in different arrangements. A backyard telescope will show its equatorial bands on a disk that will decrease from 43.2 to 39.6 arc-seconds across, while a better quality instrument will reveal the Great Red Spot every 2nd or 3rd night, Jupiter's Galilean satellites frequently eclipsing and occulting one another, and times when they cast their round, black shadows on the planet. On Feb. 25, a weekly series of double shadow transits that are visible in different parts of the world will commence. The waxing gibbous moon will shine above (or celestial north) of Jupiter on Feb. 6.
Saturn
During February, Saturn will be descending the western sky after sunset. The yellowish planet's magnitude 1.1 dot will set with the stars of Aquarius as February begins, but the planet will soon become harder to see against an increasingly bright sky. Following a hard-to-observe close conjunction with brighter Mercury above the western horizon on Feb. 24-25, Saturn will sink out of sight — but not before the waxing crescent moon shines above it on Feb. 28.
Uranus
As February begins, magnitude 5.7 Uranus will be observable from dusk until late evening as it leads far brighter Jupiter along the ecliptic. The planet, which is visible in a backyard telescope or binoculars on moonless nights, will spend the month moving slowly eastwards towards the Taurus-Aries border and about 8 degrees below (or celestial southwest) of the bright Pleiades Cluster. By the end of February, the distant planet, then below Jupiter, will be descending the western sky in the evening and dropping below the altitude that delivers crisp telescope views by 10 p.m. local time. On Feb. 5, the bright, waxing gibbous moon will shine a palm's width above (or celestial north-northeast) of Uranus.
Neptune
On Feb. 1 after dusk, Neptune will be located in the western sky near the Pisces-Aquarius border and several degrees to the lower left (or celestial south) of brilliant Venus. The crescent moon will be shining between the two planets. On each subsequent night, Venus will move farther from Neptune. The blue ice giant will drop lower every night and become hidden by the increasing twilight after mid-month.
Skywatching terms
Gibbous: Used to describe a planet or moon that is more than 50% illuminated.
Asterism: A noteworthy or striking pattern of stars within a larger constellation.
Degrees (measuring the sky): The sky is 360 degrees all the way around, which means roughly 180 degrees from horizon to horizon. It's easy to measure distances between objects: Your fist on an outstretched arm covers about 10 degrees of sky, while a finger covers about one degree.
Visual Magnitude: This is the astronomer's scale for measuring the brightness of objects in the sky. The dimmest object visible in the night sky under perfectly dark conditions is about magnitude 6.5. Brighter stars are magnitude 2 or 1. The brightest objects get negative numbers. Venus can be as bright as magnitude minus 4.9. The full moon is minus 12.7 and the sun is minus 26.8.
Terminator: The boundary on the moon between sunlight and shadow.
Zenith: The point in the sky directly overhead.
Night sky observing tips
Adjust to the dark: If you wish to observe fainter objects, such as meteors, dim stars, nebulas, and galaxies, give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Avoid looking at your phone's bright screen by keeping it tucked away. If you must use it, set the brightness to minimum — or cover it with clingy red film.
Light Pollution: Even from a big city, one can see the moon, a handful of bright stars, and the brightest planets - if they are above the horizon. But to fully enjoy the heavens — especially a meteor shower, the fainter constellations, or to see the amazing swath across the sky that is the disk of our home galaxy, the Milky Way — rural areas are best for night sky viewing. If you're stuck in a city or suburban area, use a tree or dark building to block ambient light (or moonlight) and help reveal fainter sky objects. If you're in the suburbs, simply turning off outdoor lights can help.
Prepare for skywatching: If you plan to be outside for more than a few minutes, and it's not a warm summer evening, dress more warmly than you think is necessary. An hour of winter observing can chill you to the bone. For meteor showers, a blanket or lounge chair will prove to be much more comfortable than standing, or sitting in a chair and craning your neck to see overhead.
Daytime skywatching: On the days surrounding first quarter, the moon is visible in the afternoon daytime sky. At last quarter, the moon rises before sunrise and lingers into the morning daytime sky. When Venus is at a significant angle away from the sun it can often be spotted during the day as a brilliant point of light - but you'll need to consult an astronomy app to know when and where to look for it. When large sunspots develop on the sun, they can be seen without a telescope — as long as you use proper solar filters, such as eclipse glasses. Permanent eye damage can occur if you look at the sun for any length of time without protective eyewear.
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