December is the month to bundle up and look up. The nights are at their longest, the calendar delivers the year's strongest meteor shower, a supermoon, and two bright planets climbing together in the late-evening sky.
The Geminids peak — night of December 13–14
This is the headline, and in 2026 the timing could hardly be better. The Geminids are usually the strongest annual shower, with up to around 120 meteors an hour under dark skies, and this year the Moon stays out of the way: a thin waxing crescent, only about a fifth lit, sets around 9 or 10 p.m. on December 13, leaving the whole post-midnight peak window moon-free.
The best viewing is in the pre-dawn hours of December 14, when the shower's radiant — near Castor in Gemini the Twins — is highest, around 2 a.m. local time. Activity stays good roughly December 11–16.
The Geminids are also the odd one out: their parent is not a comet but the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which sheds dust as solar heating cracks it apart near the Sun. That rocky dust is slower and denser than comet debris, so Geminid meteors tend to be bright, long-lasting, and often multicoloured — yellow, green, orange — and the shower produces more fireballs than any other annual shower. No equipment needed: lie back and let your eyes roam the whole sky, not just the radiant.
The Cold supermoon — December 23
December's full Moon arrives on December 23 at 8:28 p.m. ET, just two days after the winter solstice on December 21. Traditionally called the Cold Moon — or the Long Night Moon, because it rides the year's longest nights — it is also a supermoon this year: a full Moon near perigee, its closest approach to Earth, and by the Old Farmer's Almanac's figures the closest supermoon of 2026, about 221,667 miles away. It will be a bright, high, all-night Moon. Other phases: new Moon December 8, first quarter December 17, last quarter December 30.
The Ursids — night of December 21–22
December has a second, quieter shower for solstice night. The Ursids, debris from periodic comet 8P/Tuttle, peak on the night of December 21–22 at a modest 5–10 meteors an hour — but they have a history of surprise outbursts, so a glance is worthwhile. A nearly full Moon will wash out all but the brightest streaks, and they are a northern-hemisphere show only, radiating from near the never-setting Little Dipper. Treat this one as a bonus, not a destination.
Planets: Jupiter and Mars rising together
Jupiter is December's brightest planet, shining in Leo and rising in the mid-to-late evening by mid-month, highest after midnight. Mars keeps it company in the same part of the sky, rising in the late evening and brightening to about magnitude −0.1 by late December. Both are building toward opposition in early 2027 — Jupiter in early February, Mars on February 19.
Elsewhere: Saturn makes its farewell in the southwest in the early evening, low in Aquarius and setting around 10–11 p.m., fading by late December. Venus is the brilliant morning star before sunrise all month, and Mercury puts in a brief cameo low in the southwest just after sunset around mid-December.
Watch for lineups too: a half-lit Moon right of Saturn after sunset on December 17, a gibbous Moon above Saturn on December 18, and the month's prettiest grouping on December 26–27, when a gibbous Moon joins Mars and Jupiter in a close trio around midnight.
Deep-sky bonus: the dark window
The new Moon on December 8 opens the month's darkest window — the best nights for deep-sky observing, and a good warm-up for the Geminids. From a dark site, try Orion and its nebula, the Pleiades cluster, and the Andromeda Galaxy, the most distant object visible to the naked eye.
How to watch
You need nothing but dark skies and patience. Get away from direct lights, let your eyes adapt for at least 20 minutes (no phone screens — or use a red-light mode), dress warmer than you think you need, and bring something hot to drink.