Observe the sky: February 2026

After December’s solar observation session and the January exam break (I hope they went wonderfully), we resume our observations this February with Jupiter and the Moon as our special highlights. We encourage you to come and enjoy the lunar craters, Jupiter’s cloud bands, and the Galilean moons in action as they orbit the gas giant. Below are the main astronomical events to look out for this February 2026:

Day	Time	Event
1	23:12	Full Moon
9	13:46	Last Quarter
10	18:09	Moon at apogee ( 404556 km)
16	06:15	Uranus at quadrature
16	19:11	Moon in conjunction with Mars 0.71° S of Mars
17	13:04	New Moon
18	09:05	Moon in conjunction with Venus 1.55° N of Venus
19	00:11	Moon in conjunction with Mercury 0.12° S of Mercury
19	18:17	Mercury greatest eastern elongation ( 18.12°)
19	21:50	Moon in conjunction with Saturn 4.10° N of Saturn
20	17:56	Saturn in conjunction with Neptune 0.83° S of Neptune
24	13:29	First Quarter
25	01:52	Moon at perigee ( 370207 km)
27	08:12	Moon in conjunction with Jupiter 3.92° N of Jupiter
28	06:26	Mercury in conjunction with Venus 4.54° N of Venus

Table 1: Main astronomical events of the month of February. Local time.

During the month of February, we see a gradual increase in the Sun’s altitude, by about 10° on average. This results in longer daylight hours, slowly paving the way for a blossoming spring. As for the Moon, our faithful travel companion, we will begin the month with a full Moon approaching its apogee, which will occur on the 10th. Below you’ll find some useful infographics with information about the Moon and the Sun.

Sun during February 2026. — **Figure 1:** Variation of the Sun's position during the month of February. Left: Maximum daily elevation of the Sun during the month. Right: Position in the sky if observed every day at the same time (12.00 UT). In orange the positions of the Sun throughout February; in yellow, throughout the year (analemma).

Moon during February 2026. — **Figure 2:** Observability and illumination of the Moon during the month of February 2026. In red the time zone (universal time, UT; local time = UT + 2) during which you will be able to observe the Moon. The vertical white lines indicate the time of the Moon's passage through the local meridian.

Moon during February 2026 (II). — **Figure 3:** Phases and Moon orbit during February 2026.

The planetary situation this February is clearly dominated and monopolized by Jupiter. Uranus will be the other planet visible for much of the night but, due to its great distance, observing this other gas giant cannot be compared to observing Jupiter. In the following link, you’ll find a table with all the events involving Jupiter’s moons (Jupiter table).

Planets observability towards the beginning of February 2026 — **Figure 5:** Observability of the different planets of the Solar System from Granada in February 2026. In red, the time zone (universal time) during which you will be able to observe the different planets. The vertical white lines indicate the time of the passage of the various planets through the local meridian.

Planets observability towards the middle of February 2026 — **Figure 5:** Observability of the different planets of the Solar System from Granada in February 2026. In red, the time zone (universal time) during which you will be able to observe the different planets. The vertical white lines indicate the time of the passage of the various planets through the local meridian.

Planetary situation for the month of February 2026 in Granada. — **Figure 6:** Representation of the sky that will be observable at the end, beginning and middle of a typical February night from Granada (February 15th is chosen as representative). The positions of the planets as well as their motion relative to the fixed stellar background are indicated. For the planets with less apparent motion (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) a zoom is included for tracking with telescopes.

From a stellar point of view, the winter sky continues to dominate our observations. Moreover, the stability of February’s cold nights—though not the most inviting for taking our telescopes out into the field—offers great reward thanks to the abundance of bright stars and striking deep‑sky objects we can observe.

The sky over Granada during the month of February 2026. — **Figure 7:** Representation of the sky that will be observable on a typical February night from Granada. The ecliptic is indicated (dashed line) as well as the main deep sky objects.

As we do every month, we also set aside a brief amount of time to observe passes of the International Space Station. In the table below, you can find all the events visible from Granada (ISS table). Stay tuned on Telegram, where we will send notifications and alerts about the most notable passes.

And so we reach the end of February, the second month of the year and the last one with intense cold and snowfall—although March always manages to surprise us, and lately it has become one of the strongest months for Sierra Nevada. We’ll see if that’s the case this year as well. As always, we remind you that we are open to suggestions on our Telegram channel, where you can also stay informed about activities and receive timely alerts about easily observable astronomical events and much more. Here is the link! We hope to see you soon at our activities, and that we can learn from our successes and mistakes in January as we look ahead to the June exams.

Clear Skies!

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Observe the sky: February 2025

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Observe the sky: December 2024