'Cold' Moon Among December's Stargazing Highlights

'Cold Moon' Rising: Watch The Night Sky This Dec.

For those ready to bundle up, December can bring some of the clearest night skies of the year (not to mention the longest, which means more time to stargaze for those who need to go to bed early), and there are several celestial highlights to mark on your calendar for the month. Just don’t forget your mug of hot cocoa or tea to keep you cozy!

December 4: Crescent Moon And Venus Conjunction

Venus keeps getting brighter this month as it moves closer to Earth (it will reach its closest point in February of 2025). It’s already shining bright in the western sky after sunset each night. On Wednesday, Venus will appear close to the waxing crescent moon, which will be 14%-lit, making for a lovely pairing. Bonus: the dark part of the moon will glow with earthshine (aka Da Vinci glow).

December 7: Jupiter At Opposition

Cue Holst’s “The Planets,” because the king of planets will be at opposition on Saturday, December 7. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that Jupiter is about to attack us: rather, “opposition” is the moment at which Earth is directly between the sun and another planet (in this case, Jupiter). For us, that means Jupiter will be at its biggest and brightest for the year, making it the best night to see the gas giant in all its brilliance. Fun fact: Jupiter is so big that it’s more than two times the size of all the other planets in our solar system combined!

December 12: Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks

The Geminid meteor shower peaks on the night of December 12, while the Ursids meteor shower runs from the 17th through the 26th. The Geminids are quite active during their peak, with up to 120 meteors per hour. A nearly full moon this year could make some of the dimmer ones harder to see, however. To have the best shot, focus on the darkest parts of the sky, as far away from the bright moon as possible.

December’s full moon, which is nicknamed the cold moon, the oak moon and the black moon, will peak at 4:02 am on December 15. This means you might want to actually go out and enjoy it on the night of the 14th.

And don’t forget: winter will officially begin in the Northern Hemisphere on the December 21st solstice, marking the shortest day of sunlight for the year.

M​ORE AT WEATHER.COM

-'The Aurora Guy' Follows His Passion To Chase The Northern Lights

-The 2024 Total Eclipse, In Photos​

​-And The Astronomy Photo Of The Year Is ...

Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s weekday newsletter.