February offers spectacular astrophotography opportunities, from stunning planetary alignments to bright winter constellations. With Venus shining at its peak close to the crescent moon, a dramatic full moon, iconic constellations, and star clusters, there’s no shortage of celestial wonders to capture this month.
Here’s everything you need to know about astrophotography in February 2025:
Saturday, February 1: A crescent moon in conjunction with Venus
If you've been outside just after sunset in the last month, you'll know Venus dominates the post-sunset night sky. Tonight comes one of the astrophotography highlights of the month as a 14%-lit waxing crescent moon visits Earth's sister planet.
Read: When to photograph the moon
Sunday, February 2: A crescent moon and Venus
With a wide lens, you can capture the delicious sight of a bright Venus and a crescent moon. The latter will tonight be 23%-lit and much higher above Venus, with notable “Earthshine” detectable on its dark side. This sunlight reflected from Earth’s clouds and ice back onto the lunar surface is often picked up by wide-angle lenses.
Read: The best lenses for astrophotography.
Monday, February 3: The Orion constellation
Orion dominates the February night sky, with the hunter’s iconic belt stars, Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, an obvious highlight of the southeastern night sky after dark. Grab some images of it — and the dazzling Orionlas Nebula (M42) below the belt — before the night sky becomes bleached by strong moonlight. Use a wide-angle lens to capture the entirety of Orion against a clear, dark sky, and you may capture the colors reddish Betelgeuse and bluish Rigel at the corners of this dazzling winter constellation.
Read: The best star tracker camera mounts
Wednesday, February 5: The moon in the Pleiades
There are few better prospects for astrophotographers than the moon passing through the most beautiful open cluster of stars in the night sky. However, the 57%-illuminated waxing gibbous moon will look very bright as it appears in front of the Pleiades star cluster tonight, making single-shot images tricky. Consider using a telephoto lens to isolate the pair.
Read: Astrophotography: How-to guides, tips and videos.
Wednesday, February 12: A full ‘Cold Moon’ rising with Regulus
There are a few minutes every month when you'll find astrophotographers out in force at beauty spots. Moonrise on the night of the full moon is a special time largely because it's possible to image our natural satellite in its full glory in a dusk-lit landscape. That means being in place to capture the full ‘Cold Moon’ as it appears above the eastern horizon during dusk at the time of moonrise where you are. As a bonus, the bright star Regulus in Leo will be just beside it.
Read: How to photograph the full moon.
Sunday, February 16: Venus at its brightest
Venus will reach the brightest it will get tonight during its current apparition as the “Evening Star” before gradually dimming as it sinks into the horizon over the next few months. It will be visible in the west for a couple of hours after sunset, giving astrophotographers plenty of time to capture a bright Venus in a landscape. It's so bright that capturing Venus’s shine reflected in the water will not be difficult.
Read: Astrophotography tools: the best camera, lenses and gear.
Thursday, February 20 - Sunday, March 2: Dark sky window
Astrophotography is always more productive when the moon is out of the sky. A 10-night window of dark evening skies opens tonight as the Last Quarter Moon rises around midnight, then 50 minutes later each night for the next week until the New Moon. That guarantees pitch-black moonless night skies, perfect for capturing deep-sky objects and winter constellations. Use this opportunity to photograph the Beehive Cluster, the Pleiades, or the faint glow of the winter Milky Way.
Read: The best cameras for astrophotography
Astrophotography Shot of the Month: Zodiacal light
Here's a subtle yet stunning target for astrophotographers. From February 18 through February 28, when the moon will be out of the early evening sky, the elusive zodiacal light may become visible after sunset.
The zodiacal light appears as a faint triangular glow above the western horizon, caused by sunlight scattering off interplanetary dust particles in the solar system. However, it's only when the geometry has the zodiacal light positioned away from the horizon's haze, from our point of view, that it becomes visible.
To capture this phenomenon, get to a very dark sky site with dark skies to the west. A west-facing coastal location is a good idea.
With a wide-angle lens and a tripod, set up to orient west about an hour after sunset, when a delicate triangular-shaped light should become visible to the naked eye and your camera.
There's a balance to be made between the brightness of the zodiacal light with the deepening twilight. Experiment with exposure times between 15-30 seconds and ISO settings between 1600-3200 to reveal the zodiacal glow in all its subtle beauty. For added interest, include a foreground element — such as a silhouetted tree or mountain, coastal cliffs or a desert landscape — to add depth to your composition.
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Find out when to photograph the moon and learn how to make a time-lapse. And make sure that you're using the best camera for astrophotography paired with the best lenses for astrophotography.
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