Adler Skywatch: February 2025
Header image: The planet Venus, as seen through the 24 inch telescope in the Doane Observatory at the Adler Planetarium in January 2025.
The brightest planet in the night sky is at its very brightest for the year during this month, February 2025.
The Brightest Planet In The Sky
Look for the brilliant planet Venus this month, roughly 30 degrees high in the west-southwest skies during evening twilight. Unless the skies are very cloudy, you can’t miss it! On February 1, it appears less than two degrees to the right of a very slim waxing crescent Moon. From February 4–24, Venus shines at magnitude minus-4.6 or brighter. The only natural object that will be brighter than Venus is the Moon!
Venus sets in the west just before 9:00 pm at the start of the month, and around 8:20 pm by the end of the month.
Use Venus To Find Saturn
In the first half of February, if you look below Venus, in the west-southwest after sunset, you may be able to see the planet Saturn! This month, it shines at about first-magnitude. However, Saturn moves slightly closer to the setting Sun each evening and the Sun sets later each evening; so Saturn will be harder to spot each day.
The first week of the month, Saturn appears about 12–15 degrees below Venus. The following week, it’s 16–18 degrees below Venus. By the third week of the month, Saturn is 20 degrees below Venus and so close to the Sun that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to see.
How To See Jupiter In February
As was the case last month, Jupiter appears in the southern skies. You can find it near the easily-spotted, V-shaped asterism that marks the head of the constellation Taurus the Bull. It shines brighter than minus-2 magnitude. Early in the month, Jupiter is roughly 60 degrees high when it becomes readily visible in the southeast skies during early-evening twilight. The evening of February 6, Jupiter appears just below the waxing gibbous Moon.
As the month progresses and twilight’s glare occurs later, Jupiter doesn’t appear until it’s even higher in the early-evening sky, about 70 degrees above the southern horizon. It sets in the west-northwest around 3:00 am at the start of the month, and at about 1:00 am by the end of February.
Finding Mars In The Night Sky
The planet Mars shines brighter than zero-magnitude all month long. It appears in the eastern sky during evening twilight. The first week of February, it’s about 30 degrees high. Although as the Sun begins to set later, Mars won’t appear in the darkening sky until it’s roughly 50 degrees high. Mars will shine bright after it rises, until it sets in the west-northwest shortly before morning twilight.
This February, Mars forms a small triangle with the less-bright stars Pollux and Castor, in the Gemini constellation. The evening of February 9, a waxing gibbous Moon appears near Mars and Pollux.
Where is Mercury This Month?
This month, the planet Mercury is positioned so close to the Sun in the sky that it will be difficult or impossible to view.
An Occultation Of The Pleiades
The night of February 5 through the early-morning darkness of February 6, the waxing gibbous Moon is very close to the Pleiades star cluster, which also lies in the constellation Taurus. Around 2:00 am on February 6, shortly before it sets in the west-northwest, the Moon appears to cover a couple of the Pleiades’s stars. However, it’s so low in the sky that you’ll need an unobstructed view to the west-northwest horizon to see it.
Moon Phases In February 2025
First Quarter Moon: February 5
Full Moon: February 12
Last Quarter Moon: February 20
New Moon: February 27
Please note: these descriptions are for the Chicago area, using Central time.
Subscribe To Skywatch Wednesday This February
Tour the sky with the Adler Planetarium’s Theaters Manager, Nick, in Skywatch Wednesday. Nick uses cutting edge visualizations, NASA images, and astrophotography to show you what you can see in the night sky throughout the year.
Check out Nick’s latest episode for your guide to winter stargazing! Nick explains how to see five planets, star clusters, constellations, and stars that are visible during the winter 2024–2025 season.
Learn From Our Astronomy Educators
Watch recaps of Sky Observers Hangout livestreams this February! Learn how to observe upcoming cosmic happenings, enhance your astrophotography skills, and see celestial objects through a telescope virtually with our astronomy educators.
In the latest episode, Michelle and Hunter observe the planetary parade of 2025. See Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus through the 24” telescope in the Doane Observatory!
