Night sky February 2027 UK: planets, Moon and meteor showers
What to see from Britain in February 2027, with times worked out for UK skies rather than copied from American guides.
February evenings are still long and dark, and the winter sky is at its highest by mid-evening. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are in the evening sky, and Venus is best before dawn in mid-February 2027. Uranus is also up for anyone with binoculars or a telescope. The full Moon, the Snow Moon, is on Saturday 20 February 2027. No major meteor shower peaks in February.
February 2027 night sky: key dates
| Date | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 3 February | Mercury at greatest eastern elongation, 18° from the Sun in the evening sky |
| Saturday 6 February | New Moon at about 15:55 GMT |
| Thursday 11 February | Jupiter at opposition: opposite the Sun, up all night and at its brightest |
| Sunday 14 February | First Quarter at about 08:05 GMT |
| Friday 19 February | Mercury passes between Earth and the Sun (conjunction) and can't be seen |
| Friday 19 February | Mars at opposition: opposite the Sun, up all night and at its brightest |
| Friday 19 February | The Moon passes near Jupiter in the evening |
| Saturday 20 February | Full Moon, the Snow Moon at about 23:20 GMT |
| Saturday 20 February | Penumbral lunar eclipse: High in the sky but only a penumbral eclipse: a faint shading on the Moon's upper edge, nothing like a blood moon. |
| Saturday 20 February | The Moon passes near Mars in the evening |
| Sunday 28 February | Last Quarter at about 05:20 GMT |
Times are UK local time, rounded to five minutes. For what's up on a particular night, see the UK night sky this week and the 7-night astronomy weather forecast.
When does it get dark in February in the UK?
On 15 February the Sun sets at about 17:20 GMT in central England and the sky is dark enough for stargazing from about 18:35 until 06:05. True astronomical darkness, which faint galaxies and the Milky Way need, lasts from about 19:15 to 05:30.
| Date | Sunset | Dark enough to stargaze | Astronomical darkness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February | 16:55 GMT | 18:10 to 06:30 | 18:50 to 05:50 |
| 15 February | 17:20 GMT | 18:35 to 06:05 | 19:15 to 05:30 |
| 28 February | 17:45 GMT | 19:00 to 05:40 | 19:40 to 05:00 |
For Birmingham. "Dark enough" means the Sun is 12° below the horizon; astronomical darkness means 18°. Around midsummer it never gets that dark in Edinburgh or anywhere further north. In midwinter Edinburgh is dark about 5 minutes earlier than Birmingham and Plymouth about 15 minutes later; in spring and autumn the whole country is within about 15 minutes of these times.
Planets visible in February 2027
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are in the evening sky, and Venus is best before dawn in mid-February 2027. Uranus is also up for anyone with binoculars or a telescope. The details below are for 15 February from central England; times move by a few minutes from night to night.
Not well placed this month: Mercury, Neptune.
Moon phases February 2027
| Phase | Date and time |
|---|---|
| New Moon | Saturday 6 February, about 15:55 GMT |
| First Quarter | Sunday 14 February, about 08:05 GMT |
| Full Moon | Saturday 20 February, about 23:20 GMT |
| Last Quarter | Sunday 28 February, about 05:20 GMT |
The best evenings for faint targets this month are 1 to 9 and 22 to 28 February, when the Moon is out of the sky for at least the first hour after dark. The full Moon is the Snow Moon; our moon phase tonight page shows the Moon for any night.
Meteor showers in February 2027
No major meteor shower peaks in February.
For a quick verdict on any night, see is there a meteor shower tonight, and the UK meteor shower calendar for the year ahead.
Constellations and deep-sky objects in February
Orion is due south as darkness falls, Gemini and Castor and Pollux are high in the south-east, and Sirius is at its best below Orion. Leo starts to rise in the east later in the evening.
- M41, a bright open cluster just below Sirius
- The Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer, a binocular showpiece by late evening
- The Orion Nebula, still well placed early in the evening
To find your way around, our constellation guides show each star pattern, and binocular astronomy explains how to star-hop to clusters like these. For the darkest skies near you, try the UK dark sky sites map.
Kit for a month of stargazing
Kit we've reviewed in full
Nothing on this page needs more than your eyes, but a star chart and a red light make finding things far easier, and binoculars show the Moon's craters, Jupiter's moons and the best star clusters.
Philip's Planisphere (latitude 51.5° North)
Turn the wheel to the date and time and it shows exactly which constellations are up. Made for 51.5° north, so it matches the sky over Britain.
Lepro Rechargeable Head Torch with Red Light (2 pack)
Red light lets you read a chart without undoing the 20 minutes your eyes need to adapt to the dark.
The UK astronomy forums' standard first pair: waterproof, bright and the right size for clusters, the Moon and the Milky Way.
Our best binoculars for stargazing
Honest, research-based recommendations for every budget.
Browse all →Affiliate links: you pay the same price, we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
Every figure on this page is calculated for central England (52.5° north) when the site rebuilds each night, using the same methods as our stargazing tonight tool, checked against the JPL ephemeris. Each month's page moves on to the following year once the month ends.