February offers 8 must-see sky events including rare eclipse and planet parade

The month of February 2026 provides skywatchers with exceptional celestial events which will take place throughout the entire month. The stargazing community has already witnessed the complete Snow Moon rise which occurred on February 1 and now they anticipate NASA's historic Moon mission together with Southern Hemisphere meteor showers and an annular solar eclipse and the unique six-planet parade which will occur at the month's conclusion.

Historic Moon mission and meteor activity

NASA's Artemis II mission will begin its launch window on February 6 according to reports. The astronauts  in this mission will test deep-space systems around the Moon for their first time in over 50 years.

Southern Hemisphere skywatchers can prepare for the Alpha Centaurids meteor shower on February 8–9. Although the shower has minor importance, it produces bright fireball displays. The best viewing time occurs at midnight when the Centaurus radiant reaches its highest point and moonlight interference remains low.

Solar eclipse and dark skies mid-month

On February 17, there is an annular solar eclipse that will create a breathtaking “ring of fire” effect. This is only possible in the far-off southern regions of the world, while partial eclipses are visible in South America and southern Africa.

On the same day, there is a New Moon phase that will provide optimal viewing conditions for deep-sky objects like Bode’s Galaxy and Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos), which will be at its closest point to our planet.

Mercury and six-planetary alignment

On febuary 19, star gazers can spot Mercury adter sunset as it shines low in the western sky. More interestingly, on February 28 sky will show a rare six-planet parade, when Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune line up along the ecliptic, offering stargazers a memorable finish to February 2026.