Maps: NASA Blue Marble, Black Marble, LRO, MESSENGER, Cassini, New Horizons · Mars: NASA/JPL/USGS Viking mosaic, relief from MGS MOLA (NASA/GSFC, 6x vertical exaggeration) · Jupiter: Hubble OPAL 2019, NASA, ESA, A. Simon (GSFC), M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley) (CC BY 4.0), enhanced colour · Sun's limb: NASA/SDO AIA 304 Å · Sun, Saturn, Saturn's rings, Uranus, Neptune, clouds, relief: Solar System Scope (CC BY 4.0) · Moons and small worlds: NASA/JPL/USGS; Io, Ganymede, Titan, Triton via CelestiaContent (CC BY, Askaniy Anpilogov et al.); Mimas, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Ceres, Vesta via Stellarium (CC BY 4.0, Oleg Pluton, FarGetaNik) · Bennu, Ryugu, Itokawa, Eros, Arrokoth: shape models NASA PDS / OSIRIS-REx / NEAR / New Horizons (CC0), Ryugu ISAS/JAXA (CC BY 4.0); maps via CelestiaContent (Askaniy Anpilogov, Roman Tkachenko; Stooke, NASA PDS; CC BY) · Orbits: JPL, Minor Planet Center; asteroids and comets: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database (via KStars) · Spacecraft trajectories: NASA/JPL Horizons · Rotation: IAU WGCCRE · Data: NASA NSSDC
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The night sky in February 2027
What happens in the sky in February 2027, worked out from orbital data. Open the calendar to see each event in 3D. Times in UTC.
9 sky events this month
3 Wed Mercury at greatest eastern elongation: best after sunset Mercury is as far from the Sun in our sky as it gets this time, 18°. Look low in the west soon after sunset.
6 Sat New Moon · around 03:52 PM The Moon is on the Sun's side of the sky and can't be seen. The nights around it are the darkest of the month, the best for the Milky Way and faint meteors.
6 Sat Annular solar eclipse · around 04:00 PM The Moon passes in front of the Sun but is a little too far from Earth to cover it, leaving a ring of sunlight. It is seen only along a narrow path; never look at the Sun without proper eclipse glasses.
8 Mon The Moon passes Mercury, about 0.4° apart · around 03:37 AM The Moon moves about its own width across the stars every hour, so it passes each planet about once a month. The gap is as seen from Earth's centre; from where you stand it can differ by up to a degree. In the west after sunset.
11 Thu Jupiter at opposition: brightest of the year, up all night Earth passes between the Sun and Jupiter, so Jupiter sits opposite the Sun in our sky: it rises at sunset, is up all night and is near its closest to us for the year.
19 Fri Mars at opposition: brightest of the year, up all night Earth passes between the Sun and Mars, so Mars sits opposite the Sun in our sky: it rises at sunset, is up all night and is near its closest to us for the year.
20 Sat The Moon passes Jupiter, about 1.2° apart · around 04:42 AM The Moon moves about its own width across the stars every hour, so it passes each planet about once a month. The gap is as seen from Earth's centre; from where you stand it can differ by up to a degree. Up most of the night.
20 Sat Full Moon · around 11:04 PM The Moon is opposite the Sun, so its whole face is lit. It rises around sunset and is up all night.
20 Sat Penumbral lunar eclipse · around 11:13 PM The Moon passes through the faint outer part of Earth's shadow and dims only slightly. It is easy to miss.