TRAC Action Plan: February 2026

February 2026 Calendar

• Sun, 01 Feb Full Moon
• Mon, 09 Feb Last Quarter Moon
• Tue, 17 Feb New Moon
• Wed, 18 Feb Moon near Mercury and Venus
• Thu, 19 Feb Mercury at greatest elongation
• Thu, 19 Feb Moon near Saturn
• Tue, 24 Feb First Quarter Moon
• Thu, 26 Feb Moon close to Jupiter
• Fri, 27 Feb Moon close to Jupiter
• Fri, 27 Feb Moon Occults Kappa Geminorum

Stargazing

Winter Constellations

Constellations to look out for this month include:

• Cancer
• Canis Major
• Canis Minor
• Taurus
• Orion
• Lepus
• Auriga
• Gemini

Astrophotography

Nebula Targets in Orion (Cont.)

Hopefully, it will be clear around the time of the New Moon, and we'll be able to start capturing images of the objects found in the constellation of Orion.

Check back to our January 2026 Action Plan for the full details.

Planets

Skip to: Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune

Mercury

• Mercury reaches greatest elongation on 19 Feb 2026.
• Feb will be the best time this year to see Mercury.
• Magnitude: -1.1

Venus

• Venus is back in our evening skies after sunset.
• It will be very low in the sky.
• Magnitude: -3.9

Mars

• Mars is not visible this month.

Jupiter

• Jupiter will dominate the evening sky all month again.
• See it all night long in Gemini.
• TRAC's main goal with Jupiter is to see the GRS.
• Magnitude: -2.5

Jupiter Event Timings:

• Jupiter's GRS Transit Times
• Jupiter's Moon Event Times

Special Galilean Moon Events:

• Callisto shadow transit: 12 Feb 2026 @ 19:00-23:13
• Ganymede transit: 19 Feb 2026 @ 22:20-01:44
• Ganymede emerges from Jupiter's shadow: 22 Feb 2026 @ 19:15

Saturn

• Saturn is visible in the west after sunset.
• Saturn now sets by about 19:30.
• Magnitude: +1.0

Special Saturn Moon Events:

• Titan Occultation Ends: 02 Feb 2026 @ 19:02
• Titan above Saturn's disc: 10 Feb 2026 @ 20:00
• Titan below Saturn's disc: 18 Feb 2026 @ 18:40

Uranus

• Uranus is in Taurus and sets at 01:30.
• See if you can locate it with binoculars – it's below the Pleiades!
• Magnitude: +5.8

Neptune

• Neptune is close to Saturn and now sets by 20:00.
• It will be best viewed at the start of the month.
• The Sky Live will show you exactly where Neptune is right now.
• Magnitude: +7.8

Lunar Observations

February 2026 Lunar Calendar

• Full Moon Sun 01
• Last Quarter Mon 09
• New Moon Tue 17
• First Quarter Tue 24

February 2026 Full Moon

• On 01 Feb 2026, this month's Full Moon will rise at 16:15.
• It will be located in the constellation Cancer.

Lunar Conjunctions

We'll aim to photograph the conjunction between the Moon and the inner planets Mercury and Venus early in the evening on 18 Feb 2026. The Moon might be difficult to pick out because it will only be a very thin crescent.

Lunar Occultations

The Moon will occult the star Kappa Geminorum on 27 Feb at 21:30.

Meteor Showers

There are no major meteor showers this month.

Summary

Top Priorities for February 2026

In descending order of importance:

1. Orion Astrophotography
2. Moon Conjunctions
3. Jupiter Moon Events

NASA Artemis II

This month could mark a major milestone in space exploration with the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission. Four astronauts are set to journey to the Moon on a thrilling 10-day flight. They will orbit the Moon before returning to Earth.

Artemis II will be NASA's first crewed mission aboard the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. The mission is an important test as humanity prepares to return to the Moon in the next few years.

The earliest launch date is currently 08 Feb 2026. The decision to launch is based on many factors, including the weather conditions. Even NASA has to wait on the weather. TRAC members can definitely relate to that!

More information: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

See You Out There

January was a terrible month for astronomy, so our main project (Orion AP) has been carried over. We need clear weather around the date of the New Moon in order to make some progress with this.

James M
TRAC Team Leader
01 Feb 2026 – Rainham, Kent