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Sky Digest

Monday, 9 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

Last Quarter 47%
Dark window: 18:10 – 05:49 (11 h 39 m)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 60° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:

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
M65
Leo Triplet Galaxy
mag 9.3

At 21:00 look low in the east

Leo

The Week Ahead

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🌗 47% 🌗 38% 🌗 29% 🌘 21% 🌘 13% 🌘 7% 🌑 3%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Miranda Revisited

What is Miranda really like? Visually, old images from NASA's Voyager 2 have been recently combined and remastered to result in the featured image of Uranus's 500-kilometer-wide moon. In the late 1980s, Voyager 2 flew by Uranus, coming close to the cratered, fractured, and unusually grooved moon -- named after a character from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Scientifically, planetary scientists are using old data and clear images to theorize anew about what shaped Miranda's severe surface features. A leading hypothesis is that Miranda, beneath its icy surface, may have once hosted an expansive liquid water ocean which may be slowly freezing. Thanks to the legacy of Voyager 2, Miranda has joined the ranks of Europa, Titan, and other icy moons in the search for water, and, possibly, microbial life, in our Solar System. Jigsaw Moon: Astronomy Puzzle of the Day

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 mission to the Moon is targeting launch no earlier than April 1, 2026, marking the first human lunar mission 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 captured complementary infrared and visible-light views of Saturn, providing unprecedented scientific insights into the planet's atmosphere and ring system.

NASA — 25 Mar 2026

Smiles and Spacesuits

NASA astronaut Chris Williams completed spacesuit fit verification on the International Space Station, ensuring proper configuration and safety for ongoing ISS operations.

NASA — 20 Mar 2026

3 weeks and 3 cargo departures for εpsilon

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot documented three cargo vehicle departures from the ISS within three weeks, highlighting ongoing critical resupply operations for the station.

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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