February 2026

Hello and welcome to UT Skywatch!

Mercury is at its best for the year as it rises out of the glow of sunset the first week of this month and reaches greatest elongation East on the 18th. It will be joined by a waxing gibbous moon on the same day at only 1/10th degree from the tiny planet.

Venus sits just to the left of Mercury on the 28th in the glowing sunset as it continues to rise away from the sun this month.

Jupiter, still very bright after last month’s opposition, is joined by a bright waxing gibbous moon on the 26th. Go get those binoculars out and find those Galilean satellites.

Saturn, the ringed giant, is joined by a thin waxing crescent moon on the 19th and though you can’t see it, Neptune is right between them.

The moon phases for this month are full on the 1st, last quarter on the 9th, new on the 16th and first quarter on the 24th.

Don’t forget to get your monthly star chart at www.Skymaps.com There’s lots of great information about objects in this month’s night sky and where to find them, what to expect to see naked eye and with binoculars and a telescope.