You can see Mars in the sky with just your eyes, but not all the time, and not very easily right now in February 2026.

Quick Scoop: Can you see Mars in the sky?

Very short answer

  • Yes, Mars is a naked‑eye planet, but it’s currently too close to the Sun and too faint to be easy or obvious to see this month (February 2026).
  • It will become easier to spot again when it moves farther from the Sun and climbs higher into the pre‑dawn sky later this year and into 2027.

What’s going on with Mars now?

  • In early 2026, Mars is near the Sun’s glare from our point of view, so it’s effectively “lost” in bright twilight and daylight for casual skywatchers.
  • Guides for February 2026 specifically note that Mars is either “too faint and too close to the Sun” or simply “not visible this month” for normal evening observing.
  • Mars is shifting from the evening side of the Sun to the morning side; it becomes a pre‑dawn object later in 2026 rather than an evening “red star” like during its best showings.

When will you be able to see Mars again?

  • Astronomy forecasts say that in 2026 Mars will emerge into the morning sky, becoming visible before sunrise once it has moved far enough from the Sun’s glare (late February in the south, around April–May for much of the north), though it won’t be very bright at first.
  • Mars’s really big, bright “headline” appearance happens at opposition in February 2027, when it will rise around sunset and shine much more strongly, making it very easy to spot.

How to tell if that “star” is Mars

When Mars is in a good part of its cycle and high enough to see:

  1. It looks like a steady, slightly reddish “star,” not twinkling as much as real stars around it.
  1. It is one of the brighter “stars” in that part of the sky, though not as dazzling as Venus when Venus is visible.
  1. Its position changes slowly over weeks against the background stars, which is how people track the “wandering stars” (planets).

If you want to try anyway

Even in a poor month like February 2026, enthusiasts sometimes still try to catch Mars:

  • Use a planetarium app or website (for example, tools that show “visible planets tonight”) to get an exact sky map for your location and date; they’ll tell you if Mars is above the horizon at all and how high.
  • Focus on the pre‑dawn hours later in the year, looking low in the east before sunrise once forecasts say Mars has emerged into the morning sky.
  • For detailed surface features (polar caps, dark patches) you’ll need at least a small telescope and steady air, not just your eyes.

TL;DR: Mars can be seen in the sky with no telescope, but in February 2026 it’s effectively hidden in the Sun’s glare and very hard to spot. The views improve as it moves into the morning sky later in 2026 and reach a real peak around opposition in February 2027.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.