What's in the night sky for December 2025?

 What’s in the night sky for December 2025?

December 2025 features the Geminids meteor shower peaking around December 14th, the Super Cold Moon on December 4th, and the winter solstice on December 21st. Key celestial objects to find are bright Jupiter in the east and Saturn in the west, with Mercury visible in the morning sky before its greatest western elongation on the 7th. 

Meteor showers

• Geminids: A major highlight, peaking around December 14th with up to 120 meteors per hour possible.
• Astrophotography tip: The peak occurs when the Moon is a thin crescent, providing excellent dark skies for capturing this shower.
• The Ursids:  Also active, peaking around December 22nd with lower rates (up to 10 meteors per hour). 

Planets

• Jupiter: The brightest object in the evening sky, visible in the east after sunset and moving towards opposition in January.
• Saturn: Visible in the south-west in the early evening. It sets earlier in the month as December progresses.
• Astrophotography tip: Look for the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters in the constellation Taurus
• Mercury: Best viewed in the pre-dawn hours in the southeastern sky, with its greatest western elongation on December 7th.
• Neptune: Will require binoculars or a telescope to spot, located near Saturn in the constellation Pisces. 

Other events

• Super cold moon: The Full Moon occurs on December 4th and is a Supermoon, meaning it appears larger and brighter than a typical Full Moon.
• Winter Solstice: Occurs on December 21st, marking the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Andromeda Galaxy: Can be seen in the southern sky on darker nights. 

Astrophotography tips

• Meteor showers: The Geminid meteor shower is ideal for photography due to its high rate and the favorable moon phase.
• Planets: Consider capturing Jupiter or Saturn, but remember they are best viewed from a location with less light pollution.
• Deep sky objects: The Andromeda Galaxy and the Pleiades star cluster are excellent targets for astrophotography, but require darker skies. 

1st Dec		This blog gives some excellent astrophotography targets for the month: https://starwalk.space/en/news/december-deep-sky-objects
2nd	Ganymede’s shadow crosses Jupiter’s disc 0610 – 0925.	This website adds further to the calendar details shared here: https://starwalk.space/en/news/night-sky-tonight-december
4th	98% lit waxing gibbous moon occults M45 Pleiades from around 0300. Uranus is 4.6” south of the moon at this time. Full moon at 2315 – a perigee full moon today	If you want to image Orion during December, this website gives so good targets to try and image or visually observe: https://elanvalley.org.uk/uncategorized/eyes-on-the-night-sky-december-2025/
6th	Ganymede reappears from behind Jupiter around 0235
7th	Mercury reaches greatest western elongation – 20.7 degrees west of the sun in the morning sky - meaning it is at its farthest point from the Sun from our perspective.  87% lit waning gibbous moon this evening – sitting 3.5 degrees from Jupiter around 1900.	The ideal time for spotting Mercury will be just before dawn on 7 December, looking to the east. However, its not prudent to observe Mercury through a telescope as it will be very close to the sun and you risk pointing your scope directly at the sun as it rises
8th	Titan transits Saturn between 1730 – 2350 Callisto begins transit of Jupiter between 0210 and 0620
9th	Low altitude views of Saturn around 2348. Should see Titan and Rhea as well.
10th	Regulus is occulted by the 66% lit waning gibbous moon around 0718 during brightening dawn twilight
12th	Ganymede is eclipsed by Jupiter’s shadow around 2355 – reappearing around 0558 on 13th.
14th	Peak of Geminid meteor shower – with little interference from the moon (in a waning crescent phase)
16th	Titan occulted by Jupiter’s globe – 1623. Reappears 2205. Callisto occulted at 0744. Ganymede completes transit of planet – 1800 to 1950
21st	December Solstice
22nd	Peak of Ursid meteor shower
23rd	Ganymede’s shadow transits Jupiter’s disc 1947 to 2308. Ganymede does its transit 2120 to 2309
24th	Titan transits Saturn 1625 to 2305 Io, Callisto all transit as Jupiter rises.
25th	Watch out for Santa and his sleigh transiting everything after dark!
30th	Ganymede’s shadow crosses Jupiter’s disc 2158 to 0123 on 31st. Ganymede itself transits 2300 to 0228 on 31st.

Sources "Sky at Night" and "High Scientific"