Hi, I'm Sonia,
I have been into astronomy since 1997 when I was 11 years old when comet Hale Bopp was around. I remember being in the back garden with my dad and he was showing me how to take a photo of it with his old Fujica camera, that I still have now.
Ever since then I've been fascinated with space. I started with a very cheap Tasco telescope from Argos to look at the moon, went onto a Meade goto etx 90 telescope, which unfortunately due to age stopped working.
For a very long time and currently using a skywatcher 10" Dobsonian, to mostly photograph the moon and also the planets with a moon filter. Seestar S50 which has now got me into deep sky imaging which I love! And lastly a Coronado PST for solar imaging.
I have two Bsc (Hons) open degrees in "Introducing Astronomy" and "The Planets"
Elected in 2023 I became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
Along with my blog for StarDome, I'm also a freelancer for the BBC sky at night magazine
Clear Skies
Sonia
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February 2026
February is one of those months where the UK night sky feels both wintry and full of promise with Orion blazing, galaxies returning and the planets shifting into new positions.
Here is a detailed guide to constellations, planets, deep-sky objects and observing conditions.
Constellations and seasonal highlights:
Orion and the winter hexagon –
Orion still dominates the southern sky after sunset, setting around midnight.
Orion’s belt points you towards Sirius (the brightest star in the night sky)
Aldebaran in Taurus
The wider winter hexagon includes Rigel (orion’s other brilliant star) Procyon, Pollux, Capella and Aldebaran - a beautiful asterism for naked-eye stargazing.
Andromeda is near the Zenith at sunset early in the month then starts to drift Westward.
Home to the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) it is still well placed for binoculars or a small telescope.
Virgo rises in the East around 22:00pm early in the month and 19:00pm by the end of the month. Virgo contains Spica, a bright blue star. However, Virgo season means galaxy hunting is coming! The Virgo Cluster becomes accessible in late February into March.
Planets
Planetary Parade –
Royal observatory Greenwich notes that up to six planets may be visible on February nights, with the possibility of all eight planets near the end of the month (though mercury, Saturn and Neptune will be very low and difficult) It will definitely be a challenge to see all 6 of them.
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury/
Moon phases for February
https://moonphases.co.uk/moon-calendar/2026/1/8
February 17th an Annular Solar Eclipse will occur but not for the UK.
For more information though and details see here Annular Solar Eclipse on 17 February 2026
On the 17th, Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) will be near to Earth.
For more information on this comet - Next Comet Visible From Earth | Comets 2026 | Upcoming Comets | Comet Tonight
Astronomical events February 2026
February 1st – Full Snow moon and Lunar Occultation of the Beehive Cluster
February 3rd – Lunar Occultation of Regulus
February 7th – Spica will appear near to the moon
February 8th – Alpha Centaurid Meteor Shower
February 15th – Lunar occultation of Pluto
February 16th - Lunar occultation of Mars
February 17th – New moon and annular solar eclipse (not for the UK though)
February 18th – Venus will appear near to the moon and a Lunar occultation of Mercury
February 19th – Saturn will be near to the moon and Neptune
February 23rd - Uranus to appear near to the moon and Aldebaran
February 24th – Lunar occultation of the Pleiades Cluster
February 27th – Jupiter, Pollux, Venus will be near to the moon
February 28th – Planetary alignment and a lunar occultation of the beehive cluster.
And finally moving onto Artemis 2! An historic launch!
The current scheduled launch now looks to be sometime in March 2026. A February wet dress rehearsal threw up a leak issue. Artemis 2 won’t be putting humans back onto the moon but the crew will fly the Orion module 8889km beyond the moon, they will complete a lunar flyby and then return back to Earth.
Lots of information can be found here about Artemis 2
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii-press-kit/
Clear skies for February! It’s a packed month with lots of wonder to see.
