Flip your eyes to the western sky at sundown on Feb. 19 to catch a fragile sight, because the razor-thin type of the two-day-old crescent moon sidles as much as the gasoline big Saturn within the night sky.
The ten%-lit waxing crescent moon will likely be simple to overlook because it hangs low on the western horizon at sunset, with Saturn showing as a brilliant “night star” lower than 5 levels — roughly the width of your three center fingers held at arm’s size — to the decrease left of Earth‘s pure satellite tv for pc.
Attempt to discover a clear view of the western horizon on Feb. 19 and look to the decrease proper of Saturn to identify Mercury‘s regular mild hugging the horizon. When you’re extremely fortunate, you might also catch a glimpse of Venus, even decrease nonetheless, earlier than it slips swiftly out of sight, bathed within the glare of the setting solar.
Neptune will even be current — although far too dim to identify with the bare eye — between the moon and Saturn, lower than 2 levels to the correct of the gasoline big. A telescope with an aperture of at the least 8 inches will likely be wanted to identify the blue dot that represents its far-flung disk.
Each Saturn and the crescent moon will comply with the solar beneath the horizon lower than three hours after sundown for skywatchers within the U.S. Bear in mind, the precise instances that photo voltaic system our bodies rise and set varies based mostly in your location. Take a look at a trusted web site like Time and Date for timings particular to your locale.
Stargazers hoping to get a more in-depth take a look at the planets of the photo voltaic system ought to take a look at our picks of the finest telescopes accessible in 2026, whereas photographers ought to peruse our choice of the most effective cameras and lenses.
Editor’s Notice: When you seize a picture of the moon with Saturn and wish to share it with House.com’s readers, then please ship your picture(s), feedback, and your identify and site to spacephotos@area.com.
