The Planets
Planet Data For February
Click on any planet below to go straight to its section.
The table below shows key data for the planets this month, including rise, transit and set times, as well as magnitude, apparent size and position data (right ascension and declination).
Events that occur when the sun is below the horizon are shown with a black background and white text. All other events happen when the sun is in the sky and other for not visible for observation.
February offers the last chance for a long time to see almost all of the planets. We’ve already lost Mercury to the sun, and we’ll lose Saturn and Neptune to it too by the end of February. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus all offer fabulous evening views this month.
All of the images below can be opened full screen in a new tab by clicking on them
Mercury
05th February
Mercury is four days from passing in front of the sun (inferior conjunction) and so we’re not able to observe it. This is the view at sunrise.
15th February
Now an evening object, this image shows Mercury setting a few minutes after the sun. It is unobservable still.
25th February
At 18:50, Mercury has pulled away from the sun but sits so close to the horizon that it’s practically impossible to observe.
After some strong viewing periods recently, Mercury stays out of sight in February. It crosses in front of the sun nine days into February and doesn’t pull far enough away from out star to be able to see it by the month’s end.
We’ll enjoy better opportunities to glimpse it in early March.
Venus
05th February
Unmissably bright in the west at around 8pm, the Venusian disc is only one-third illuminated.
15th February
Ten days later and the planet is lower in the sky at the same time but still easy to see.
25th February
It’s 7:30 in the evening in this chart and you’ll see that little has changed but your telescope reveals a very thin crescent now.
Venus is heading to pass in front of the sun on 23 March. As it gets closer to that date, it is more and more lit from behind and so we see a thinning crescent – like the moon in miniature – as February progresses. At the start of the month, use your telescope to see the Venusian disc over one-third lit by the sun. Make the same observation on the 28th, and the crescent is now only half that width.
As all of this is happening, Venus is travelling closer to us and so the size of its disc appears to grow, reaching almost 50 arcseconds wide by the end of February, which is larger than Jupiter!
Mars
05th February
At 9pm, Mars is high in the southeast – practically overhead. Its magnitude -0.9 disc near the twins of Gemini make it hard to miss.
15th February
Ten days later at the same time and we can see Mars is still in Gemini but is almost literally overhead.
25th February
You might want to wait until later in the night to observe it when it’ll be lower in the sky, making it easier to point a telescope its way.
Opposition was last month which means that all of February is a great time to observe Mars, although its disc does shrink dramatically over the next four weeks from over 13 to below 11 arcseconds across. Aim to look at it as early in the month as you can for the best surface feature views because this is the largest the planet appears for several years now, even at future conjunctions.
Jupiter
05th February
Still large and bright, find Jupiter near the horns of Taurus, high in the southwest at 9pm.
15th February
Little has changed in the middle of the month, although the Jovian disc is shrinking as the planet moves further from us.
25th February
Still skirting the bull’s horns, there’s a lot to enjoy from Jupiter’s bright disc.
Like Mars, Jupiter is not too long past its opposition but the planet pulls away from Earth rapidly now and so its disc shrinks noticeably over the four weeks of February. As we head into the second half of the month, Jupiter will match Venus for size and then, remarkably, will end the month smaller in our night sky.
Take the opportunity, while we still have it, to examine the mesmerizing belts of its surface that Jupiter is famed for.
Saturn
05th February
It’s time to bid farewell to Saturn for a while. This view at 7pm shows the planet just 18° above the western horizon.
15th February
Now only 10° high at the same time, the ringed planet is becoming practically unobservable.
25th February
By the end of the month, Saturn sets before 7pm and we won’t see it again before it reappears as a morning planet.
We’re saying goodbye to Saturn this month. It passes behind the sun on 12 March and, for a few weeks either side of that date, it’ll be too close to our star to be viewed. That timing is unfortunate because it also coincides with when its rings will be edge-on to us, which only happens every fifteen years, and we’re going to miss the moment this time.
If you want one last Saturn fix, then don’t hang around. By the middle of the month, the Ringed Planet will be practically impossible to see and it won’t present good viewing again until early mornings in May.
Uranus & Neptune
15th February – Uranus
At 9pm, Uranus is high in the west below Jupiter and the Pleiades.
15th February – Neptune
Neptune is leaving the night sky and can only be seen low in the west as the sky gets dark.
Neptune passes behind the sun on 19 March and gets to close to our star by the end of the month for us to observe it. It’ll be the end of May/beginning of June before we’ll be able to reliably see it again – and we’ll have to be outside at 4am for the privilege.
Uranus still has lots of evening viewing to offer us. We’ll see it high in the west in the late evening throughout February.
All Planets Viewer
Use the table below to see when each of the planets is observable for each day this month. Click on it for full screen.
A planet is classed as observable when it is more than 10° above the horizon and the sky is dark enough for it to be observed.
Planet ephemeris tables produced with the kind permission of Dominic Ford. Sky images are courtesy of SkySafari Pro 6.