February 2027: Jupiter and Mars at opposition

Dates and numbers

• Jupiter: opposition at 00:21 UTC on 11 February, which is 11:21 am AEDT, so the nights of 10–11 and 11–12 February are equally good. Magnitude −2.5, apparent diameter 44.2 arcseconds, in Leo.
• Mars: opposition on 19 February, at about 15:44 UTC (2:44 am AEDT on the 20th), and closest to Earth at about 00:14 UTC on 20 February. Magnitude −1.2, apparent diameter 13.8 arcseconds, distance 0.678 astronomical units, also in Leo.
• Saturn is still in the evening sky until early March, low in the west after dusk.

What opposition means for you

At opposition a planet sits opposite the Sun in our sky. It rises around sunset, is highest in the middle of the night and sets around sunrise, and it is close to its brightest. From Australia, Leo is in the northern half of the sky, so both planets come up in the east-north-east in the evening and are highest in the north in the middle of the night.

This is an aphelic opposition for Mars: Mars is near the far point of its orbit, so its disc is only 13.8 arcseconds wide, against 25.1 in 2003. That is under a third of Jupiter’s width. In a camera lens, expect a bright orange dot with a hint of a disc, not surface markings.

Neither planet needs a dark site. City glow barely matters; steady air and a clear view to the north do.

What a telephoto lens can show

With a 200–600 mm lens on a sturdy tripod, Jupiter becomes a small disc with up to four of its large moons strung out beside it as points of light. Their positions change from night to night, which makes a good series.

Exposure is the hard part, because the planet is far brighter than its moons. For the disc, start around ISO 200 and 1/100 second, and shorten the exposure until the planet is not clipped. For the moons, try 1/10 to 1/4 second at ISO 1600–3200 and accept an overexposed planet. Shoot both and blend them later, or keep the version you prefer.

Use a remote release or a 2-second timer, switch off lens stabilisation on a tripod, and focus in magnified live view on the planet itself. Take hundreds of frames and keep the sharpest, because the air is always moving and a few frames will be steadier than the rest. Shoot when the planets are highest, since low objects are seen through more turbulent air.

If you have a small telescope, short video clips stacked with free software such as AutoStakkert or RegiStax will show Jupiter’s cloud belts and give Mars a real disc.

Planets in a landscape

At magnitude −2.5 and −1.2, Jupiter and Mars are among the brightest points in the night sky, and with both in Leo they make a strong pair over a foreground. A 24–50 mm lens at f/2.8, ISO 800–1600 and a few seconds’ exposure works in the evening as they rise in the east-north-east. With the Moon full on 21 February, moonlight can light the landscape for you; for a darker sky, shoot in the first half of the month.

Penumbral lunar eclipse, 21 February: Western Australia only

The full Moon of 21 February passes through Earth’s faint outer shadow, the penumbra, and never touches the dark inner shadow. This is a subtle dimming, not a red Moon. The eclipse runs from 21:12 to 01:13 UTC, with greatest eclipse at 23:13 UTC.

In Western Australia the Moon enters the penumbra at 5:12 am AWST on Sunday 21 February, low in the west, and sets soon after at dawn, so you see only the opening stage, when the shading is hardest to notice. Everywhere else in Australia the eclipse begins in daylight or after moonset; on the east coast it starts at 8:12 am AEDT. Treat it as a reason to photograph a setting full Moon over the Indian Ocean rather than as a major event.

Practical notes

February nights are warm, but the Bureau of Meteorology lists October to April as the peak period for heatwaves, bushfires and severe thunderstorms, and the northern cyclone season runs to 30 April. Storm cells can clear quickly, so check radar before writing off a night. If you head to a park, check fire danger ratings and any total fire ban, and drive slowly after dark, when wildlife is active.

Share your Jupiter and Mars frames in the Astro photography hobby on Garbamons.