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Numerous planets can be seen in the evening sky well into February.
Mars in the east, Jupiter in the south, and Venus and Saturn in the west have been part of this planetary parade since the beginning of January. Despite numerous reports, the celestial spectacle is clearly visible until the end of the third week of February; there is no particular day on which it is best seen, explained Alexander Pikhard, head of the Vienna Astronomy Association (WAA), to APA.
Planetary parade in the evening sky until well into February
Venus is already shining brightly in the southwest at dusk. The planet’s brightness will increase to such an extent by mid-February that it will be visible to the naked eye in the daytime sky as early as the afternoon. Jupiter is the second brightest planet after Venus and shines brighter than all the stars in the winter sky. Its striking reddish coloring characterizes Mars and shines as brightly as Sirius, the brightest fixed star in the firmament. Saturn’s visibility ends in our latitudes on February 23, and Mercury takes its place in the planetary parade on February 24. The two distant planets, Uranus and Neptune, are also in the evening sky but cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is not so rare for four of the five bright planets to be visible at the same time, emphasized Pikhard. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will be visible simultaneously in the morning sky as early as late fall 2026.
- source: APA/picture: Image by Bernard FLEURANDEAU from Pixabay
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