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Sky Digest

Sunday, 15 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 Crescent 3%
Dark window: 18:20 – 05:39 (11 h 18 m)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.6 · 61° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Io Occultation begins
Io Occultation ends

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
M48
NGC 2548 Open Cluster
mag 5.5

At 21:00 look halfway up in the southeast

Hydra
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
NGC 2252
Open Cluster
mag 8.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Mon
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)

NGC 2259
Open Cluster
mag 11.0

At 21:00 look high in the south

Mon
NGC 2440
Planetary Nebula
mag 11.0

At 21:00 look low in the south

Pup
NGC 2146
Galaxy
mag 10.5

At 21:00 look high in the north

Cam
NGC 2207
Galaxy
mag 10.7

At 21:00 look low in the south

CMa
NGC 2336
Galaxy
mag 10.5

At 21:00 look high in the north

Cam

The Week Ahead

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
🌑 3% 🌑 0% 🌑 0% 🌑 2% 🌒 6% 🌒 13% 🌒 21%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

To Fly Free in Space

What would it be like to fly free in space? About 100 meters from the cargo bay of a space shuttle, Bruce McCandless II was living the dream -- floating farther out than anyone had ever been before. Guided by a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), astronaut McCandless, pictured, was floating free in space. During Space Shuttle mission 41-B in 1984, McCandless and fellow NASA astronaut Robert Stewart were the first to experience such an "untethered space walk". The MMU worked by shooting jets of nitrogen and was used to help deploy and retrieve satellites. With a mass over 140 kilograms, an MMU is heavy on Earth, but, like everything, is weightless when drifting in orbit. The MMU was later replaced with the SAFER backpack propulsion unit.

APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

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 view of Saturn to date, revealing the planet in complementary infrared and visible wavelengths.

NASA — 25 Mar 2026

NASA-JAXA’s XRISM Telescope Clocks Hot Wind of Galaxy M82

The NASA-JAXA XRISM telescope has directly measured superheated gas speeds from the galaxy M82 for the first time, advancing understanding of galactic winds and stellar activity.

NASA — 25 Mar 2026

Artemis II rolls again

NASA's Artemis II rocket has completed its second rollout to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center, marking progress toward the critical lunar mission.

ESA — 20 Mar 2026

Meet the Platypi: NASA’s Newest Astronaut Candidate Class

NASA's newest astronaut candidate class of ten explorers, selected in 2025, is training at Johnson Space Center for future missions to the ISS and Moon.

NASA — 19 Mar 2026

Explore the Three-Body Problem

Simulate chaotic gravitational dynamics with preset scenarios: circumbinary planets, Lagrange points, and the famous Figure-8 choreography. Switch between inertial and co-rotating frames.

Explore the Three-Body Problem Open Three-Body

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