Unlike January, February will not be as rich in astronomical events. But the attention of star gazers will certainly be drawn to the Evening Star, Venus, which will reach its brightest this month.
The last month of winter will begin with a very aesthetic close configuration that will include the Moon, Venus, and Saturn visible to the naked eye, as well as Neptune, which will require a telescope to observe. Another interesting event will take place at the end of February: all 7 planets will be on the same side of the Sun, in the evening sky, for an observer from Earth. Although it will be extremely difficult to observe some of them.
List of events

February 1 – Saturn, the new Moon (12%), Venus and Neptune are in close alignment in the evening sky.
February 4 – Venus reaches its highest point in the sky.
February 6 – the Moon passes through the Pleiades cluster. At this time, they will be below the horizon; the evenings of February 5 and 6 will be equally favorable for observing the conjunction.
February 7 – the Moon (69%) is conjunct Jupiter (-2.5m), and they will be closest to each other at 03:29 a.m. UTC (10:29 p.m. EST), when both bodies will be below the horizon. Therefore, the best time for observing will be the evening and first half of the night of February 6.
February 8 – the transit of Titan’s shadow across Saturn’s disk. The transit begins at 2:37 p.m. UTC (9:37 a.m. EST), when the Sun is still above the horizon, and lasts until 8:22 p.m. UTC (3:22 p.m. EST) when the planet will have already fallen below the horizon. Due to the low altitude, it will be extremely difficult to observe the event.
February 9 – the conjunction of the Moon (92%) with Mars (-0.8m), the Moon will be only 0.4° from the Red Planet at 7:40 p.m. UTC (2:40 p.m. EST).
February 12 – lunar full moon, exact time 1:53 p.m. UTC (8:53 a.m. EST).
February 16 – Venus reaches its brightest at -4.6m.
February 24 – the transit of Titan’s shadow across Saturn’s disk will last from 1:44 p.m. to 7:44 p.m. UTC (from 8:44 a.m. to 2:44 p.m. EST). Observations will be very difficult.
In the last week of February, all 7 planets will be visible in the evening sky. However, some of them will be too low above the horizon to be observed.
February 28 – the new moon, the exact time is 12:45 p.m. UTC (7:45 a.m. EST).
A detailed overview of the most interesting events
February 1: New Moon, Venus, Saturn and Neptune
The best time to observe this configuration is around 4:00 p.m. UTC (11:00 a.m. EST), but it depends on your geographic location. For observations, you should choose a site with an open west and southwest exposure. You will be the first to see Venus and the Moon as the brightest objects in the group. Saturn can also be seen through the telescope, but it may still be too faint for the naked eye – you should wait a bit. But as darkness falls, Saturn will sink lower and lower – catch the moment! As for Neptune, you will need binoculars or a telescope, and this planet is best seen in dark skies when the Sun is at least 18° below the horizon.

February 9: Moon near Mars
Since the Moon and all the planets never move far from the ecliptic (the line along which the Sun moves in the sky for an Earth observer), during each cycle our natural satellite is near each planet in turn, or even several at the same time (as on February 1). But each time the conditions for observing such a conjunction are different.
On February 9, the conditions will be very favorable for observing, both for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe. At 7:40 p.m. UTC (2:40 p.m. EST), Mars and the Moon will be 0.4° apart, so they can be seen in the same field of view through binoculars or a small telescope and, of course, observed without optical instruments.

February 16: Venus reaches maximum brightness
On January 10, Venus was in its greatest eastern elongation, and it is continuously approaching us. If you look at Venus through a telescope in early February, it will look like a tiny Moon, illuminated by 37%. Two processes are occurring simultaneously: the area of the planet illuminated by the Sun visible from the Earth is decreasing (which should lead to a decrease in brightness) and the distance to it is decreasing (which leads to an increase in brightness). Which of the two processes “wins”? Until February 16, the distance will be more important – Venus continues to increase its brightness, delighting us with its appearance in the evening sky. After this date, due to the phase decrease, the planet will gradually dim, and from mid-March it will disappear from view, melting in the sunlight.

Photo: Xinran Li
The end of February is a ghostly chance to see all the planets
Some sources indicate February 28 as the day when all 7 planets will be visible in one evening. Technically, all the planets will indeed be in the evening sky. However, only Venus, Jupiter and Mars will be easily accessible. Mercury will still be visible low above the horizon at the open-air venue. Saturn will melt into the evening sky, and Neptune has every chance of going unnoticed even by those armed with a telescope. These three planets will disappear behind the horizon shortly after the Sun. Uranus observations do not require a rush, and you can wait for a darker time of day.
The reference to February 28 remains as unclear as the “appulse” on January 21. Most likely, the date is associated with the appearance of the new moon in the evening sky. But, if you want to test your skills as an observer, we recommend that you make your first attempt on February 24-25, and start with Mercury and Saturn, moving from west to east. Of course, a fully exposed sunset and a telescope are prerequisites for success, but the planets in the west remain extremely difficult to observe.

Source: SkySafari virtual planetarium
February 28: the best time to observe faint sky objects
This time, while the Moon is in its new moon phase, we suggest paying attention to a variety of multiple stars available to small telescopes. The easiest in this sense are Mizar and Alcor in the handle of the Big Dipper, a remarkable asterism of the Ursa Major. You can see these stars with the naked eye even in the city. A telescope will allow you to distinguish between two separate components of Mizar – Mizar A and Mizar B. Each of them is also a double, although it is impossible to see it with an amateur telescope. Alcor also has a satellite. Thus, Mizar-Alcor is a system of 6 stars.
One of the brightest stars in Gemini, Castor, could be another good target. It is believed that this star was the first double to be discovered. With the naked eye, we see only one light source, but a telescope will show you that there are two stars, slightly different in brightness and color: Castor A and B. Next to them, you will find a third, much fainter star, Castor C. It is noteworthy that each of these trio is a double, so we again have a 6-fold system.
Another star worth looking at through a telescope is Rigel, also known as β Orionis, one of the brightest stars in this saturated constellation. Through the telescope, you can see that next to this blue star there is another, much less bright one. Currently, it is believed that these two stars are not physically connected, but observations with powerful instruments have allowed scientists to conclude that Rigel consists of 4 stars.
For true astrological gourmets, we can suggest finding the white dwarf, which is a satellite of Sirius. The star is quite faint, and it is difficult to see it next to the bright Sirius. The components of the pair move in elliptical orbits, approaching and then moving away, and now is a rather favorable time for observations.
Although, of course, such popular objects as the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) with its satellites, the Orion Nebula (M42), the Bode’s Galaxy (M81), the M41, M35, M36, M37, M38, and many others remain available throughout the night.
