🌙 February Highlights: Grazing Occultation + Deep-Sky Favorites

February 02, 2026

Grazing Occultation of the Pleiades

On February 23rd, observers across North America will have the opportunity to witness a grazing occultation of the Pleiades by the Moon. An occultation occurs when the Moon passes in front of a background object, temporarily blocking it from view. In a grazing event, the Moon only partially covers the target, allowing some of the cluster’s stars to remain visible while others disappear along the lunar limb.

The event favors observers in the Midwest and Western United States, where the Moon and Pleiades will be higher above the horizon during the encounter. Binoculars provide an excellent view, though the Moon’s brightness may require placing it just outside the field to better detect the faint cluster stars. Exact timing depends on location, so an astronomy app such as SkySafari is recommended.

📍 Best views for observers in the Midwest and West
⏰ Starts around 10 PM on the East Coast, earlier in the Northwest
🔭 Binoculars are perfect, though you may need to edge out the bright Moon to spot the cluster’s stars

Beehive Cluster- M44

Nestled within the faint constellation of Cancer, the Beehive Cluster (M44) is the only deep-sky object in the region that outshines the surrounding stars. Under truly dark skies it can be glimpsed with the naked eye as a soft patch of light, but most observers will need binoculars to appreciate its full beauty.

With 8×32 binoculars, the cluster takes on an elongated, diamond-like shape, marked by a close double star at its northern tip. A low-power telescope transforms the view into a rich swarm of blue-white stars, sprinkled with a few warmer, copper-colored members. Near the center, look for subtle groupings and patterns—an intricate stellar arrangement that gives the cluster even more character and depth.

Bode's Galaxy and Cigar Galaxy

The galaxies M81 and M82 lie in the constellation Ursa Major, not far from the familiar stars of the Big Dipper. M81, also called Bode’s Galaxy, is a beautiful spiral system about 12 million light-years away. Nearby is its striking companion, M82, the Cigar Galaxy, an irregular galaxy at a similar distance whose elongated shape hints at dramatic internal activity.

These two galaxies are gravitationally linked, and past interactions have subtly distorted their structures, shaping both their appearance and evolution. Between them lies the extremely faint Integrated Flux Nebula, a ghostly veil of interstellar dust that is notoriously difficult to capture even in long-exposure images.

Thanks to their closeness in the sky, M81 and M82 can be spotted together with binoculars as two small, misty patches of light. For amateur astrophotographers, they form one of the finest paired galaxy targets—two bright, prominent galaxies sharing the same field of view, a rare and rewarding sight in the deep sky.