The Astronomical Sky Above Edinburgh and Lothian For February 2026
Phil Daly
An excellent example of earthshine occurs mid-February and we close out the
shortest month with a sunset parade of 6 planets.
The Sun leaves Capricornus (The Sea Goat) on 16 February at 4:04 am and enters
Aquarius (The Water Bearer) and recedes from Earth by 810,823 km (0.005 AU)
over the month. Daylight lengthens from 08:38 (8.642 hours) on 1 February to
10:38 (10.632 hours) on 28 February so we lose 1 hour and 25 minutes of night
time by the end of February. There will be 6 more weeks of winter for there
always is: Groundhog Day, 2 February, is a cross-quarter day meaning it is
halfway between the previous (December) solstice and
the upcoming (Vernal) equinox.
The Moon starts and ends the month in Cancer (The Crab) but recedes, overall,
by 6,125 km. The full Snow Moon makes an appearance on 1 February at 10:09 pm
in Cancer (The Crab). The Moon enters last quarter on 9 February at 12:43 pm in
Libra (The Scales). Lunar apogee (furthest from Earth) that occurs on 10
February at 4:55 pm and takes the Moon to 404,537 km away from Earth—around
20,137 km further than average—subtending an angle of 29.5 arc-minutes. The
new Moon appears on 17 February at 12:01 pm in Aquarius (The Water Bearer)
beginning a new synodic month which will last 29 days, 13 hours and 22 minutes.
The first quarter Moon shows up on 24 February at 12:28 pm in Taurus (The
Bull). Finally, Lunar perigee (closest to Earth) occurs on 24 February at 11:19
pm and finds the Moon some 370,172 km away from Earth—around 14,228 km closer
than average—subtending an angle of 32.3 arc-minutes. This will be the
maximum Lunar perigee all year.
As detailed in our ephemeris, the Moon will conjunct with Regulus in Leo (The
Lion), Spica in Virgo (The Maiden), Antares in Scorpius (The Scorpion) and
Pollux in Gemini (The Twins) at various points throughout February. The
conjunction with Regulus will be an occultation in various parts of the world
but, alas, not in Edinburgh and Lothian. There is also a conjunction with the
Pleiades (M45) on 24 February but it occurs after the Moon sets in the wee,
small, hours.
For the inferior planets: Mercury begins the month in Capricorn (The Sea Goat)
and ends in Pisces (The Fishes) but approaches by 94,316,261 km (0.630 AU).
Contrarily, Mercury decreases in magnitude from -1.27 to 2.03 (20.90 times in
brightness) over February. The ‘Swift Planet’ is closest to the Sun, at
perihelion, on 19 February and reaches greatest eastern elongation later the
same day. Mercury will enter a retrograde orbital motion on 26 February. Venus
begins the month in Capricorn (The Sea Goat) and ends in Aquarius (The Water
Bearer) but approaches by 6,365,864 km (0.043 AU). The ‘Evening Star Planet’
increases in magnitude from -3.90 to -3.92 (1.01 times in brightness) over the
month.
Both Mercury and Venus are evening objects becoming more visible in the latter
part of February. For example, on 18 February, the waxing crescent Moon will be
suspended between a civil twilight Mercury and Venus after the Sun sets. At
that time, the Moon will be 1.4% illuminated and we should witness earthshine.
This effect is sometimes called ‘The Old Moon in the Young Moon’s Arms’ or the
‘Da Vinci Glow’. Da Vinci sketched the phenomena in the early 1500s and
speculated that this effect arose due to reflection from the Earth’s oceans.
Today we know it’s more attributable to terrestrial clouds.
For the superior planets: Mars begins the month in Capricorn (The Sea Goat) and
ends in Aquarius (The Water Bearer) but approaches by 5,607,409 km (0.037 AU).
Even so, the ‘Red Planet’ decreases, very slightly, in magnitude from 1.11 to
1.14 (1.03 times in brightness) during February. This is because the fraction
of the surface illuminated by the Sun decreases. Mars, mostly, remains lost in
the Sun’s glare for observers. Jupiter remains in Gemini (The Twins) all month
but recedes by 43,607,653 km (0.291 AU). The ‘Gas Giant’ decreases in magnitude
from -2.62 to -2.44 (1.18 times in brightness) over the month. It remains
highly visible in the evening sky.
Saturn remains in Pisces (The Fishes) all month but recedes by 38,317,508 km
(0.256 AU). Even though it recedes, the ‘Ringed Planet’ increases in magnitude
from 1.03 to 0.99 (1.03 times in brightness). There are 2 reasons for this
brightening during recession: there is an ‘opposition surge’ called the
Seeliger Effect and this couples with the re-opening of the rings from edge-on.
These phenomena reflect more sunlight back towards terrestrial observers so
Saturn appears brighter. On 20 February, those observers with binoculars or a
telescope can capture Saturn and Neptune separated by only 0.83 degrees in
Pisces. Uranus returns to prograde (direct) orbit on 4 February and reaches
eastern quadrature on 16 February.
On 28 February, we will witness the beginning of a planetary parade after
sunset which will last several days. Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter will
all be visible as a planetary parade across 130 degrees azimuth of the Ecliptic.
Those of you with a decent telescope or binoculars may also include Uranus and
Neptune.
Whatever happened to the recurrent nova T CrB? Located in Corona Borealis (The
Northern Crown), this exploding star appears to be cyclic with a period of some
80 years. It has been widely anticipated to brighten over the last year or two
but has singularly failed to do so. Clearly, T CrB is being coy but an analysis
by Jean Schneider suggests that activation may occur after integer multiples of
the orbital period. What does this mean? If the analysis is correct, T CrB may
pop in June 2026 so it is worth keeping an eye on in the coming months to see
if, fingers crossed, the Blaze Star flares once again!
At the time of our sky map, some constellations visible are Lynx (The Lynx) at
zenith, Draco (The Dragon) in the north, Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair) in
the east, tiny Triangulum (The Triangle) in the west, and Canis Major (The
Greater Dog) in the south. The ecliptic hosts Virgo (The Maiden), Leo (The
Lion), Cancer (the Crab), Gemini (The Twins), Taurus (The Bull), Aries (The
Ram) and Pisces (The Fishes).
The southern sky at night still provides for excellent viewing of two
pseudo-constellations. The ‘Winter Triangle’ constitutes Betelgeuse, Procyon
and Sirius and the ‘Winter Hexagon’ has members Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella,
Pollux, Procyon and Sirius. Circumpolar constellations—always above the
horizon at the latitude of Edinburgh and Lothian—include Cepheus (The King),
Perseus (The Hero), Cassiopeia (The Seated Queen) and Ursa Major (The Greater
Bear).
