Look up! What's going on in the February night sky?

Watch the forecast for clear night skies this month!

The brightest planets in the night sky will shine as the 'planet parade' continues throughout February, plus be on the lookout for the Moon to join the line-up, and for Saturn to 'tag' Mercury in towards the end of the month.

A special alignment of planets across the evening sky, dubbed the 'six planet parade', began in late January. If you missed it at the start, don't worry. You still have more than a month left to enjoy the show!

Feb planet parade 2025

The line-up of the 'planet parade' on Feb 1, 15, and 28, 2025, at 7 p.m. local time on each of the three nights, with the Moon in the scene towards the start of the month, and Mercury tagging in for Saturn towards the end of the month. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)

Each night with reasonably clear skies, go out in the evening hours, just after sunset. Starting in the southeast and scanning overhead towards the west, you should see a 'string' of bright points — beginning with reddish Mars, then Jupiter and Venus (both of which will be quite bright), and with dimmer Saturn farthest to the southwest. If you have a telescope, you may be able to find two other planets 'hiding out' — Uranus just to the west of Jupiter, and Neptune closer to Venus.

As the month progresses, the line-up of planets will shift farther towards the west with the arrival of each sunset. Additionally, the arrangement of the planets closest to the western horizon will change up. First, Venus, Neptune, and Saturn will put more distance between them. Then, at the end of the month, we'll 'lose' Saturn in evening twilight, with Mercury rising to take its place.

READ MORE: Look up! A six-planet 'parade' shines across the sky

The Moon

Astro Calendar - February 2025

We have an evening Crescent Moon to start the month off. As the Moon rises later each day, we will see more of its surface become illuminated, with the phases passing from Waxing Crescent through the First Quarter on the 5th and then into Waxing Gibbous, up until the Full Snow Moon on the night of February 11-12.

Past the Full Moon, less of its surface will be illuminated each night, as the Moon swings through its Waning Gibbous phases, reaching the Last Quarter on the 20th, and then Waning Crescent in the last week or so, until the New Moon occurs on the 28th.

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Watch for some very nice alignments and conjunctions between planets, the Moon, and bright stars, throughout the month.

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The Constellations

The Winter Constellations are dominating the night sky right now.

To the south, Orion is still the most recognizable arrangement of stars, chasing Taurus across the sky, with Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo following behind.

Feb 2025 Constellations Southern Sky

The constellations in the southern sky at midnight on Feb 15, 2025. (Stellarium)

Also, see if you can spot the "Winter Triangle". Three bright stars from three separate constellations form the three points of a roughly equilateral triangle — Betelgeuse (the shoulder of Orion), Sirius (the brightest star of Canis Major), and Procyon (the brightest star of Canis Minor).

To the north, look for W-shaped Cassiopeia, along with Ursa Major ("The Big Dipper"), and Ursa Minor ("The Little Dipper"). If you have trouble finding the Little Dipper, you can use Ursa Major to locate it (along with Polaris, the North Star). Pinpoint the two stars at the end of the "bowl" of the Big Dipper, draw an imaginary straight line between them, and keep following that line towards the north. The first bright star you come upon will be Polaris, at the end of the handle of the Little Dipper.

Feb 2025 Constellations Northern Sky

The constellations in the northern sky at midnight on Feb 15, 2025. (Stellarium)

Unfortunately, there are no annual meteor showers during the month of February. We need to wait until late April for the 'meteor shower drought' to end.

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However, sharp-eyed skywatchers may catch the occasional 'sporadic' meteor flash across the sky on any particular night.

(Thumbnail image is a simulation of the night sky on February 3, 2025, with the planets enlarged by 500 times their normal size, courtesy the open-source planetarium software, Stellarium. The planets will appear as bright 'stars' in the same arrangement, although Uranus and Neptune will only be visible through a telescope.)

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