What’s up in the night sky: February 2025

Welcome to our night sky monthly feature where we focus on easy and fun things to see in the night sky, mostly with just your eyes. This month is a spectacular time to check out planets. There is a planet parade across the evening sky and, toward the end of the month, all the Solar System’s planets are visible in the night sky — though it will be a challenge to actually see them all at that time, as discussed below.

All month: In the evening, from west to east along an approximate line crossing the sky, see yellowish Saturn, super bright Venus, very bright Jupiter, and reddish, very bright Mars! If you’ve got binoculars you might see Uranus as well, and a telescope could get you Neptune. Some individual planet notes follow. 

Late in the month: Very low in the west soon after sunset, bright Mercury is visible, and Saturn has not slipped below the horizon meaning all the planets are spread across the evening sky at one time; however, you’ll need a clear view to the western horizon to catch Mercury and Saturn.

All month: Venus is stunning in the evening west. The brightest natural object in the night sky except the Moon, Venus is particularly easy to see this month as it is far above the horizon in the early evening. It will drop lower as the months pass.

All month: Yellowish Saturn is visible in the western sky in the evening. Over the course of the month, it rapidly drops toward the horizon, making it hard to see by the end of the month.

All month: Reddish Mars is up in the evening west. It gets dimmer as the weeks pass as Earth and Mars get farther apart in their orbits.

All month: Very bright Jupiter high in the sky in the early evening.

Feb. 1: The Moon is near yellowish Saturn and super bright Venus.

Feb. 6: The Moon is near very bright Jupiter

Feb. 9: The Moon is near reddish Mars.

Feb. 12: Full Moon

Feb. 16: Venus is the brightest it will be all year, twice as bright as it shines at its dimmest (which is still very bright).

Feb. 24: Yellowish Saturn is near bright Mercury, but they are very low in the west just after sunset. If you can see them, you can easily see all the other naked-eye planets spread across the rest of the sky, and even Uranus with binoculars (or a really dark site and good eyesight), and maybe Neptune with a telescope.

Feb. 28: New Moon