February 28, 2026: Almanac of Sun, Moon, and planet positions for tonight’s planet parade. Mercury fades, Venus low, Saturn and Uranus require binoculars, Jupiter dominates.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 6:27 a.m. CST; Sunset, 5:40 p.m. CST. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.
Venus as an Evening Star
Here is the Almanac for Sun, Moon, and Planets, outlining the outlook for tonight’s widely reported planet parade.
Sun an Moon
Sun: At Chicago’s latitude, the sun is in the sky for 11 hours, 13 minutes. During the month, daylight increased seventy minutes. Miami gained 36 minutes, with today’s daylight lasting 11 hours, 37 minutes. From Anchorage, daylight spans 10 hours, 20 minutes, longer than Chicago, Anchorage gained two hours, 31 minutes during February. In the southern hemisphere, in Auckland, the sun shines 12 hours, 57 minutes, and that latitude lost 61 minutes of daylight. From latitude 8° south, the sun is overhead at local noon.
Moon: Moving toward its Full (Worm) Moon and a lunar eclipse on March 3, the moon, 93% illuminated, is less than halfway from the eastern horizon to overhead one hour after sunset. It is 25° to the lower left of bright Jupiter. The moon rises before mid-afternoon and is visible in the eastern sky before sunset. It is high in the south near midnight and sets in the west-northwest during morning twilight.
Mercury and Venus
Mercury: The Elusive Planet disappears into bright evening twilight. It is in the same binocular field to the right of Venus 35 minutes after sunset, but it is too dim to be seen, even with optical assist. Evening light is brighter than the planet. Mercury is 15% of its brightness compared to nine nights ago when it was at its best. Tonight, it is 6° above the western horizon, to the right of Venus. For the planet parade, it is not visible.
Venus: The Evening Star appears high each evening, but tonight the observing window is narrow. It can be found 30 minutes after sunset for about 20 minutes. It sets 62 minutes after sunset. Visibility is brief.
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn
Mars: The Red Planet is west of the sun, rising 21 minutes before sunrise. It appears in the eastern predawn sky later in the year.
Jupiter: The Jovian Giant dominates the night sky. As darkness falls, it is over halfway from the east-southeast horizon to overhead. Tonight, it is to the moon’s upper right. The Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux, are to Jupiter’s left. Jupiter moves westward during the night and sets in the west-northwest less than three hours before sunrise. It is visible nearly all night.
Saturn: The Ringed Wonder is nearly 10° to Venus’ upper left. The sky is too bright during early twilight to see it easily. Use binoculars for detection. One hour after sunset, it is less than 10° above the western horizon and visible with an optical assist. Visibility improves as the sky darkens but it sets less than two hours after nightfall.
Uranus and Neptune
Uranus: The Tilted World’s visibility is limited by moonlight. It is near the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus, to the upper right of Orion. It appears as an aquamarine star near 13 and 14 Tauri (Tau). Visibility is limited in bright moonlight.
Neptune: The window to see the Distant Planet closed several weeks ago. It is in the same region as Saturn but nearly three times farther away. Neptune is not visible.
The Outlook
Six planets are above the horizon after sunset, but Mercury and Neptune are not visible. Venus appears briefly in the fading twilight, while Saturn and Uranus require binoculars for detection. After tonight’s gibbous moon, Jupiter dominates the night sky and is the most prominent object visible this evening.
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