Venus, Saturn and Neptune near the Moon, 1 February 2025

If you look up at the night sky tonight and wonder what the bright stars are next to the moon, you are actually looking at the planets Venus and Saturn.

Venus is the brightest ‘star’ in the night sky throughout February 2025 and is a wonderful sight to see in the evening Twilight.

It appears when dusk falls and is probably the first ‘star’ you will see as the night approaches.

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On February 1, Venus goes under the horizon 4 hours and 24 minutes after the sun.

Before the planet sets you, you see a 13%-lit crescent 3.3 ° south of Venus at. 20:00 ut.

This is a beautiful nude eye show, but Venus looks even more incredible when seen through a telescope.

Venus exhibits phases, just like our moon, and Tonight Venus is a 37%-lit Crescent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dgpgjrap9s

Saturn is just below the moon tonight, also shiny like a bright star, but less light than Venus.

And if you get a good pair of binoculars or a telescope, you will also be able to see Neptune, the most distant planet in our solar system.

It’s not visible with the naked eye, but you can use the charts on this site to help you find it with your telescope.

But of course planets are not visible for just one night!

Venus, Saturn and Neptune are visible throughout February, but it will be more difficult to see them as March approaches.

Let’s see what the rest of the month has in store.

Venus

Venus is a dramatic sight visible shortly after sunset. It is located in the fish in the southwest.

At the beginning of February, Venus shines very light (mag. –4.5, to be precise) and you will be able to catch it against a dark sky.

As February progresses, Venus remains brilliantly and well placed in the sky, but observing it will become more difficult as the weeks pass and the days get longer.

On February 15, Venus still goes 4 hours after the sun and is still light (mag. –4.5).

But before February 28, Venus moves back towards the sun and spring is approaching will make things difficult.

Venus sets 3 hours and 15 minutes after sunset and is low in the sky when darkness falls.

If you observe with family or beginners, point out the planet and describe how it is a similar size like Earth, but is shrouded in thick clouds and very priceless to life.

Venus shows a crescent phase visible through a telescope.

If you have binoculars or a telescope, ask your observer (s) if they can see something special about the planet.

If you have a group, ask each one to make a sketch, compare the results when everyone has completed the task.

Saturn

Like Venus, the best time is to see Saturn in February 2025 at the start of the month.

It is located near Venus in Aquarius in the southwest. It will be bright in early February (mag. +0.8), visible in the deep twilight.

At the end of February 2025 it is about to sit down in the west, just after the sun, making it inevitable to observe.

In other words, enjoy it while you can!

Neptune

Neptune, like Venus and Saturn, is best seen in February 2025 at the beginning of the month and is visible in the southwest of the fish.

On February 1, 2025, Neptune is near Venus and you need binoculars or a telescope to observe it because it cannot be seen with the naked eye.

It’s Mag. +7.9 at the beginning of February, which is out of naked eye visibility, and will quickly become unobservable from there.

If you’ve observed or photographed the planets this month, don’t forget to send us your photos and they can appear in a future version of BBC Sky on Night Magazine.