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Sky Digest

Sunday, 8 February 2026 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
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Tonight at a Glance

Waning Gibbous 57%
Dark window: 18:08 – 05:51 (11 h 43 m)

Bright moon tonight — best deep-sky viewing before moonrise (01:19)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 59° alt · Gemini Details
Next GRS transit:
Io Occultation ends
Europa Occultation begins

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 7.5 · 1° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.44 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 24d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

M41
Little Beehive Cluster Open Cluster
mag 4.5

At 21:00 look low in the south

Canis Major
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Orion
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look halfway up in the northwest

Andromeda

Binocular Targets

U Ori
Variable Star
mag 5.4

At 21:00 look high in the south

Ori
M35
Shoe-Buckle Cluster Open Cluster
mag 5.3

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gemini
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Ursa Major

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

Castor
HIP 36850; Alpha Gem; 66 Gem Double Star
mag 2.0

At 21:00 look high in the southeast

Gem
M38
Starfish Cluster Open Cluster
mag 7.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Auriga
M43
De Mairan's Nebula Nebula
mag 9.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Orion
C7
NGC 2403 Galaxy
mag 8.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Camelopardalis
3 Gem
Variable Star
mag 5.8

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gem

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

Z Cam
Variable Star
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the north

Cam
NGC 2304
Open Cluster
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look high in the south

Gem
M97
Owl Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 9.9

At 21:00 look high in the northeast

Ursa Major
M66
Leo Triplet Galaxy
mag 8.9

At 21:00 look low in the east

Leo
RX And
Variable Star
mag 10.2

At 21:00 look halfway up in the west

And

The Week Ahead

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
🌖 57% 🌗 47% 🌗 38% 🌗 29% 🌘 21% 🌘 13% 🌘 7%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Active Sunspot Region 4366 Crosses the Sun

An unusually active sunspot region is now crossing the Sun. The region, labelled AR 4366, is much larger than the Earth and has produced several powerful solar flares over the past ten days. In the featured image, the region is marked by large and dark sunspots toward the upper right of the Sun's disk. The image captured the Sun over a hill in Zacatecas, Mexico, 5 days ago. AR 4366 has become a candidate for the most active solar region in this entire 11-year solar cycle. Active solar regions are frequently associated with increased auroral activity on the Earth. Now reaching the edge, AR 4366 will begin facing away from the Earth during the coming week. It is not known, though, if the active region will survive long enough to reappear in about two weeks' time, as the Sun rotates.

Image credit: Daniel Korona — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

NASA Sets Coverage for First Artemis Crewed Mission Around Moon

NASA's Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon is targeting launch no earlier than April 1, 2026, marking humanity's return to lunar exploration for the first time in over 50 years.

NASA — 25 Mar 2026

NASA Webb, Hubble Share Most Comprehensive View of Saturn to Date

NASA's James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes have combined observations to provide the most comprehensive infrared and optical view of Saturn to date, revealing new insights into the planet's rings and atmosphere.

NASA — 25 Mar 2026

3 weeks and 3 cargo departures for εpsilon

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is currently aboard the ISS during a busy period with multiple cargo vehicle departures scheduled within three weeks, highlighting active station resupply operations.

ESA — 20 Mar 2026

Understand Your Telescope

See the light path through six telescope designs: refractor, Newtonian, SCT, Maksutov, RC, and Gregorian. Adjust aperture, focal length, and eyepiece to calculate magnification and field of view.

Understand Your Telescope Open Optics Simulator

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