Space Guide February 2025 | 7-Planet Parade, Meteor Shower, Bennu Asteroid Update!
Welcome to the very first installment of Space Guide, your monthly deep dive into the night sky and beyond! I'm Sarah Mathews, astrophotographer and former space industry professional, and I'm bringing my two worlds together to guide you through the most exciting celestial events, the best astrophotography targets, and the latest space and science news.
February 2025 is already shaping up to be an incredible month for skywatchers and space enthusiasts. Whether you're setting up your telescope for some backyard observing or just curious about what's happening above us, this guide has something for you.
We're kicking things off with February's Full Moon, traditionally called the Snow Moon. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere (where "snow" feels a bit out of place right now), feel free to rename it the No-Snow Moon! It's a perfect opportunity to capture beautiful moonlit landscapes. The Last Quarter Moon on February 20th creates dramatic shadows along the Terminator Line (no, not that Terminator), making lunar craters and mountains pop in your photos. When the New Moon arrives on February 28th, you'll have your best chance for deep-sky photography, with dark skies perfect for capturing faint objects like galaxies and nebulae.
For Northern Hemisphere observers, it's Orion Season, and you're in for a treat! The Orion Nebula (M42) is bright, detailed, and easy to capture. If you're looking for more challenge, try the Horsehead Nebula with its more subtle features, or the Flame Nebula & M78, which are perfect for widefield shots or more focused imaging.
My Southern Hemisphere friends get to enjoy summer skies that are really showing off! The Carina Nebula looks stunning in both wide and tight frames, while the Running Chicken Nebula offers a fun, colorful target. Don't miss the Keyhole Nebula, a dark structure within Carina that's great for close-up shots.
If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, mark your calendar for February 8th, when the Alpha Centaurid meteor shower peaks. Expect about 6 meteors per hour. Photographers should use a 14-22mm lens, try 10-30 second exposures, and set ISO between 800 to 3200 depending on your camera.
February brings some planetary events you really can't miss. The Lunar Occultation of Mars on February 9th will show Mars disappearing behind the Moon and reappearing, visible from Canada, Greenland, Europe, China, and Russia. It's a perfect opportunity for a time-lapse! On February 16th, Venus will be at its brightest, blazing at -4.6 magnitude in the western sky after sunset. Just remember, this beauty is a "scorching hellscape," with surface temps hot enough to melt lead. This month also offers your last chance to catch Saturn before it disappears into the Sun's glare.
The month culminates with the 7-Planet Parade on February 28th. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will all be visible at once! They'll form a graceful arc along the ecliptic; bring binoculars for Uranus and Neptune.
In space exploration news, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returned samples from asteroid Bennu, revealing 14 of the 20 amino acids life on Earth uses, all five nucleobases, the building blocks of DNA and RNA, and evidence Bennu's parent body once had liquid water. These findings suggest life's ingredients may be more common in the cosmos than we thought. But there's a twist: Bennu has a 1 in 2,700 chance of impacting Earth in 2182, reinforcing the need for planetary defense strategies.
That's a wrap for February's Space Guide! If you're into astrophotography, backyard stargazing, or geeking out over space discoveries, this month has it all. And this is just the beginning.
Clear skies until next time!
Sarah
Here are links to the gear I talk about:
(btw, these are affiliate links!)
Dual narrowband filter (telescope) 2-inch | 1.25-inch
Filter Holder (for 1.25 & 2-inch filters)
Optolong L-enhance clip-in filter for Canon EOS-C
Optolong L-eXtreme clip-in filter for Nikon Z-Series
Beginner-friendly DSLR + Wide-angle Kit Lens
Beginner-friendly DSLR + Zoom Telephoto Kit Lens
Seestar S50 Smart Telescope: Agena | HPS
Beginner-friendly Telescope: Agena | HPS
Tripod
Tracker
Affiliate Links: I am an affiliate partner with Agena Astro, High Point Scientific, and Amazon. Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you use them to make a qualifying purchase. This supports the channel so I can continue creating educational content. Thank you for your support!