On the evenings of February 8 and 9, 2025, the bright waxing moon will move close to Mars and the twin stars of Gemini: Castor and Pollux. What’s more, a few lucky observers – in Russia, China, eastern Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia and Greenland – will see the moon occult – or pass in front of – Mars at 20 UTC on February 9, 2025, (your local time may vary). If you look outside on the night of February 9 and don’t see Mars … that might be because it’s behind the moon! They’ll rise before sunset and set before sunrise. Visible planets charts via EarthSky.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
Like last month, there are 4 planets visible as February 2025 begins. They’ll lie along the path the sun travels in daytime (the green line on our chart). For one, brilliant Venus will reach its greatest brilliancy on February 14, Valentine’s Day. It’s dazzling in dark skies in the western twilight. The steady golden light of Saturn will lie between Venus and the horizon. High overhead on evenings in February 2025 is bright Jupiter. And the planet Mars is up there, too, fainter than Jupiter but noticeable for its red color. Look for Saturn soon! It’ll gradually disappear into the sunset glare by this month’s end. Plus Mercury will be joining the show late in the month.
February 9: Mercury’s superior conjunction
Mercury will reach superior conjunction – when it’s most behind the sun from Earth – at 12 UTC on February 9, 2025. Thus, Mercury isn’t visible in our night sky in the middle part of February. It’ll emerge in the western evening sky at the end of February and be easiest to spot the first few weeks of March. Will you see Saturn and Mercury together at the end of February? Hmmm! Well … maybe. Binoculars will help. Chart via EarthSky.
February 11 and 12: Moon, Regulus and the Sickle
The waxing gibbous moon on February 11, 2025, will lie near Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion. And the next night, February 12, the Full Snow Moon will lie close to Regulus. The star might be lost in the glare of the bright full moon. Chart via EarthSky.
The moment of full moon will fall at 13:53 UTC (7:53 a.m. CST) on February 12, 2025. A full moon rises opposite the sunset, is highest in the sky at midnight and lies low on the western horizon opposite the sunrise. It’s the Snow Moon and will light up the night sky. It’ll look full on the evenings of February 11 and 13 as well. What’s more, The moon will be close to the bright star Regulus. They are in the constellation of Leo the Lion. Want more? Here are 4 keys to understanding the moon’s phases.
EarthSky’s Marcy Curran presents moon phases for the month of February 2025. Plus she previews the nights when the moon will sweep past planets and bright stars.
Asteroid 2024 YR4: Should you be worried?
EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd interviewed asteroid expert Dr. Richard Binzel of MIT – inventor of the Torino Scale – about asteroid 2024 YR4. This asteroid now has a 1-in-43 chance of striking Earth in 2032.
Zodiacal light time is here
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeff Andrew captured this image in Summit County, Colorado, on March 13, 2023. That hazy pyramid on the sunset horizon – beginning when all traces of twilight have left the evening sky – is the zodiacal light. It’s most visible in the evenings around the March equinox. You need a dark sky to see this eerie light. This image looks similar to what you’ll see in 2025, with the Venus in the midst of the zodiacal light during February 2025. Jeff wrote: “A nice display of zodiacal light that appears to emanate from the setting planet Venus, but in reality is a glow of diffuse sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust … In the foreground is the snow-covered Gore Mountain Range of central Colorado.” Read more about the zodiacal light. Thank you, Jeff!
February 14: Venus at greatest brilliancy
At 22 UTC on February 14, 2025, the already brilliant Venus will reach its greatest brilliancy in the evening sky. Over the next several weeks, it will drop closer to the western horizon, losing a small amount of brightness each night. Venus will slip away from the evening sky in March and emerge in the morning sky in April. Chart via EarthSky.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love, reaches its greatest brilliancy on Valentine’s Day, February 14. Venus is currently blazing, low in the west after sunset, with Saturn below. Join EarthSky’s founder and editor-in-chief Deborah Byrd at 12:15 p.m. CT (18:15 UTC) on Wednesday, February 12, to learn how (and why) to love Venus.
Mid-February evenings planetary alignment
Here’s the view of 4 bright planets around the evenings of February 14, 2025. They will lie along the path the sun travels in daytime (the green line on our chart). Brilliant Venus reaches greatest brilliancy on February 14 and dazzles in dark skies in the western evening sky, with the steady golden light of Saturn lower on the horizon. High overhead is bright Jupiter, and visible most of the night is the red planet, Mars.
February 17 morning: Moon and Spica
The waning gibbous moon will lie close to the bright star Spica on the morning of February 17, 2025. What’s more, a few lucky observers in parts of Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia and South America will see the moon occult – or pass in front of – Spica around 13 UTC (your local times may vary) on February 17. Others will see the moon close to Spica. So, if you look outside on the morning of February 17 and don’t see Spica … that might be because it’s behind the moon! Spica is the brightest star in Virgo the Maiden. They’ll rise before midnight and be visible through dawn. Chart via EarthSky.
The moon will reach apogee – its farthest distance from Earth in its elliptical orbit – at 1 UTC on February 18, 2025, when it’s 251,582 miles (404,882 km) away.
February 20: Last quarter moon
The moment of last quarter moon will fall at 17:32 UTC (11:32 a.m. CST) on February 20, 2025. It’ll rise after midnight your local time and set around noon. Look for it high in the sky before dawn.
The waning crescent moon will lie near Antares and 3 moderately bright stars known collectively as the Crown of Scorpion on the morning of February 20. Antares is the brightest star in Scorpius the Scorpion. Then the waxing crescent moon will float close to Antares on February 21, 2025. A lucky few observers in parts of the Easter Islands, South America, Antarctica and the southern tip of Africa will see the moon occult – or pass in front of – Antares around 9 UTC (local times may vary) on February 21. Others will see the moon close to Antares. So, if you look outside on the morning of February 21 and don’t see Antares … that might be because it’s behind the moon! Look for them starting several hours before sunrise. Chart via EarthSky.
Here’s the view of 3 bright planets around the evenings of February 24, 2025. They will lie along the path the sun travels in daytime (the green line on our chart). Brilliant Venus is dazzling in dark skies in the west. High overhead is bright Jupiter, and the red planet, Mars, is visible most of the night. If you are lucky and look about 20-30 minutes after sunset you might be able to catch Saturn and Mercury close to each other low in the bright western evening twilight. Chart via EarthSky.
February 24 and 25 mornings: Moon and the Teapot
On the mornings of February 24 and 25, 2025, look for the waning crescent moon near the Teapot of Sagittarius, low on the horizon shortly before sunrise. Do you see a lovely glow on the unlit portion of the moon? That’s earthshine, light reflected off the Earth. Chart via EarthSky.
On the evening of February 28, 2025, a slender waxing crescent moon will float above the western horizon about 30-40 minutes after sunset. Far above it, Venus will glow brightly. Look for bright Mercury close to the moon. Chart via EarthSky.
First, look for one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky, Orion the Hunter. It’s visible in both hemispheres. It rises high in the February evening sky. The 3 bright stars in a row – Orion’s Belt – are sure to catch you eye. Chart via EarthSky.The bright star Capella in the constellation Auriga the Charioteer is a flashy star when close to the horizon. That’s because it’s bright at magnitude 0.24 and its light dances around when looking through our thick atmosphere. To be sure you’ve found Capella, look for a little triangle of stars nearby. Capella is sometimes called the Goat Star, and the little triangle of stars is an asterism called The Kids. It’s high overhead in February evening skies.The constellation Gemini the Twins. Castor and Pollux are considered the “twin” stars in the constellation. Image via EarthSky. It’s high in the evening sky this month with bright Mars nearby.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
February evening planets
Venus shines brilliantly as darkness falls the first few weeks of February 2025. The moon pays Venus a close visit on February 1. Venus reaches its greatest brilliancy on Valentine’s Day, February 14. The steady golden light of Saturn is near Venus. Saturn will be at its best at the beginning of February and will fade as it slips more deeply into the evening twilight, at the end of each new day. By the month’s end, Saturn will be lost in the sunset glare. When will you see it last? Chart via EarthSky.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
Venus remains a bright light after sunset in late February. It’ll slip away in March and emerge in the morning sky in April. It’ll reach its greatest distance from the morning sun on May 31-June 1, 2025. Mercury will emerge in the bright evening twilight – low in the west, below Venus – in the last few days of February. It’ll reach its greatest distance from the sun on March 7-8, 2025. Chart via EarthSky.Bright Jupiter lies high in the east in the evening sky in February 2025. The bright star Aldebaran and the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters are nearby. Notably, Jupiter outshines even the brightest stars. The moon passes by Jupiter on February 6 and 7, 2025. Jupiter rises before sunset in February and sets a few hours after midnight by month’s end. It’ll remain in the constellation of Taurus the Bull until it passes behind the sun – in its solar conjunction – in June. Chart via EarthSky.Mars shines near the bright stars Castor and Pollux – the “twin” stars of Gemini – in February 2025. The moon will lie near the trio on February 9. In addition, Mars will be visible in the evening sky and for several hours after midnight this month. Mars was at its brightest on January 15-16, 2025, for this 26-month period. Mars will remain visible in the evening sky through November 2025. But it’ll continue to fade the rest of the year as Earth races ahead of it in orbit around the sun. This month, though, you’ll find Mars shining a bit more brightly than the twin stars. Chart via EarthSky.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
Sky dome map for visible planets and night sky
Here is the sky dome view for February 2025. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell’s 2025 Astronomical Calendar.
Attention amateur astronomers! Guy Ottewell’s popular and informative Astronomical Calendar for 2025 is available in both electronic and printed versions.
Bottom line: Visible planets and night sky guide for February 2025. Tonight, watch for Mars near the twin stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux.
Meet Marcy Curran, our voice of the night sky on EarthSky YouTube. Check out her popular short videos in the Sky category on our YouTube channel. When she's not making videos, Marcy is an EarthSky editor, helping to keep our night sky guide up-to-date and just generally helping to keep the wheels turning around here. Marcy has enjoyed stargazing since she was a child, going on family camping trips under the dark skies of Wyoming. She bought her first telescope in time to see Halley’s Comet when it visited the inner solar system in 1986. She co-founded her local astronomy club and remains an active board member. Marcy taught astronomy at her local community college for over 20 years. She and her husband live in Wyoming, in a rural location, with an all-sky camera and super-good horizon views! And, their observatory will soon be ready to photograph the night sky.
“I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime” was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 24,000 members. He's earned the title of Master Observer and is a regular contributor to the video series, “Global Star Party.” He has authored the celestial observing guides “Exploring the Starry Realm,” and “Carpe Lunam,” and “Take Your First Steps, an Introduction to Amateur Astronomy.” John also wrote for twenty years the monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and currently writes a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observer’s Handbook.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky's website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She's the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
Kelly Kizer Whitt - EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube - writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.
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