December 15 and 16 mornings: Moon, Spica, Zubenelgenubi
After the waning crescent moon’s visit with Spica this morning, look for it tomorrow morning and Tuesday morning near the star with the odd sounding name, Zubenelgenubi, in Libra. Chart via EarthSky.
Did you see meteors last night? You might see still see some Geminids tonight. It’s a great year for the Geminids! Join EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd to find out more. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.
The predicted peak for the Geminid meteor shower was 3 UTC this morning. You might still see some Geminids from mid-to-late evening tonight until dawn tomorrow morning. A waning crescent moon will rise a few hours after midnight, so it won’t interfere with meteor watching. Plus, the bright planet Jupiter is near the stars of Gemini. Chart via EarthSky.
Venus is nearly behind the sun
Venus is the brightest planet visible from Earth. It left our morning sky some weeks ago. But now the sun-observing SOHO spacecraft can see it near the sun’s glare. Here the sun is behind an occulting disk, blocking out the central glare. The superior conjunction of Venus, when it will be most directly aligned behind the sun from Earth, will come on January 6. It’ll return to visibility in our evening sky in February 2026. Images via NASA/ SOHO.
December evening planets
Here’s an overhead chart depicting 2 bright planets visible in the December evening sky from the Northern Hemisphere. Jupiter will rise in the eastern evening sky and remain visible through dawn. Meanwhile, Saturn will shine brightly in the western sky and set before midnight by the end of the month. The 2 planets lie along the path the sun travels in the daytime (the green line on our chart). Chart via EarthSky.
December morning planets
Here’s an overhead chart depicting 2 bright planets in the December morning sky as observed from the Northern Hemisphere. Jupiter will be prominently positioned high in the western morning sky. Mercury will be shining low in the eastern morning twilight. This is Mercury most favorable morning apparition of 2025 for the Northern Hemisphere. But look soon! The elusive planet will gradually disappear from view and be gone sometime around Christmas. Note that the 2 planets lie along the path the sun travels in the daytime (the green line on our chart). Chart via EarthSky.
December 17: Moon reaches apogee
The moon will reach apogee – its farthest distance from Earth in its elliptical orbit – at 6 UTC on December 17, 2025, when it’s 252,476 miles (406,322 km) away.
December 17 morning: Moon, Mercury and Zubenelgenubi
The thin waning crescent moon will lie near Mercury on the morning of December 17. The bright star Zubenelgenubi will shine nearby. Look for them about 40 minutes before sunrise. Chart via EarthSky.
The moment of new moon will fall at 1:43 UTC on December 20, 2025. That’s 7:43 p.m. CST on December 19. New moons rise and set with the sun. Plus, this is the 3rd of 3 new micromoons – or most distant new moons – in 2025. Nights around the new moon are perfect for stargazing, and this one is near the peak of the Ursid meteor shower. See EarthSky’s best places to stargaze.
The 2025 December solstice will happen at 15:03 UTC. That’s 9:03 a.m. CST in North America. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice marks the longest nights and shortest days of the year. For the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the shortest nights and longest days. After this solstice, the sun will begin moving northward in our sky again. Happy solstice to all!
December 21, 22, 23 and 24 evenings: Looking at holidays lights? Watch for the young moon!
If you’re out looking at holiday lights, check out the pretty young moon. The waxing crescent moon will hang low in the western sky about 30 minutes after sunset on December 21, 22, 23 and 24. It’ll set later each night, but you can start looking for it soon after sunset. Try to catch it during the evening twilight, when it’ll be shining in a colorful sky. Chart via EarthSky.
The best time to watch for Ursids is before dawn on December 22. In 2025, the new moon occurs a few days before the Ursids peak, so you can watch for them in a dark sky. For the best view, find a dark country site to watch the starry sky. Under ideal conditions you might see 5-10 meteors an hour. Read more about the Ursid meteor shower.
December 26 evening: Moon slips by Saturn
The waxing crescent moon will pay a close visit to the steady golden light of Saturn on the evening of December 26. They’ll set a little before midnight. The moon will also be near Saturn the night before and after the 26th. Chart via EarthSky.
December 30 and 31 evenings: Moon, Pleiades and Aldebaran
On the evenings of December 30 and 31, the waxing gibbous moon will be visible near Aldebaran and the Pleiades star cluster. Aldebaran is the fiery eye of Taurus the Bull. They’ll be visible for a few hours past midnight. Chart via EarthSky.
Our charts are mostly set for the northern half of Earth. To see a precise view – and time – from your location, try Stellarium Online.
December stars and constellations
If you’re out stargazing on any December evening, look for these stars and constellations high overhead in the evening sky. Give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness. And consider heading to a dark-sky site for the best views of the stars.
In December, look overhead and northward for the M- (or W-) shaped constellation Cassiopeia the Queen. Then, look nearby for the graceful shape of the constellation Perseus and its bright star Mirfak. Plus, Perseus contains the star Algol – known as the Demon Star – because it changes in brightness roughly every 3 days. Chart via EarthSky.Cassiopeia can also help you find the Double Cluster in Perseus. It consists of 2 open star clusters near each other on the sky’s dome. The 2 clusters reside in the northern part of the constellation Perseus, quite close to the constellation Cassiopeia the Queen. Just scan that area with your binoculars for 2 glittering groups of stars. The breathtaking Double Cluster will be there. Chart via EarthSky.The constellation Taurus the Bull is visible in the evening sky now and is close to the easy-to-see constellation Orion the Hunter. It’s home to 2 favorite star clusters and a famous supernova remnant. The Hyades open star cluster forms the V-shaped face of the Bull in Taurus with the bright red star Aldebaran as the fiery eye of the Bull. Another open star cluster, the Pleiades, is nearby. Chart via EarthSky.
December evening planets
Bright Jupiter will rise in the east soon after sunset this month. And it’ll be near the twin stars of Gemini, Castor (the slightly dimmer one) and Pollux (the slightly brighter one). Also, the bright star Procyon is not far away. Jupiter is visible through dawn and will reach opposition – when we fly between it and the sun – on January 10, 2026. It’ll be biggest and brightest then. The moon visits Jupiter around December 7. Chart via EarthSky.Saturn lies in the west in the evening hours of December. It’s the brightest object in that part of the sky, other than the passing moon. And Saturn lies far above a star of similar brightness, Fomalhaut. Saturn reached opposition — when Earth flew between Saturn and the sun — on September 21. The ringed planet rises well before sunset and will set after midnight around December 1st, and then, by month’s end, it’ll set before midnight. Saturn will shine at 1.2 magnitude by month’s end as it lies among the stars of Aquarius the Water Bearer. The rings of Saturn open back up a little this month, going from -0.6 degrees to -1.5 degrees. The moon visits Saturn on December 26 and 27. Saturn will remain visible in the evening sky through February 2026. Chart via EarthSky.
December morning planets
For Northern Hemisphere viewers, Mercury will shine in the bright morning twilight low on the eastern horizon from December 1 until around December 25. It’ll reach its greatest distance from the sun on December 7. This will be the best morning apparition of Mercury for the Northern Hemisphere in 2025. Chart via EarthSky.
Sky dome map for visible planets and night sky
Here is the sky dome view for December 2025. It shows what is above the horizon at mid-evening for mid-northern latitudes. The view may vary depending on your location. Image via Guy Ottewell’s 2025 Astronomical Calendar.
Attention amateur astronomers! Guy Ottewell’s popular and informative Astronomical Calendar for 2025 is available in both electronic and printed versions.
Bottom line: Visible planets and night sky guide. Look for the waning crescent moon rising in the east a few hours after midnight, near the bright star Spica. You might still see a few late Geminid meteors tonight.
Meet Marcy Curran, our voice of the night sky on EarthSky YouTube. Check out her popular short videos in the Sky category on our YouTube channel. When she’s not making videos, Marcy is an EarthSky editor, helping to keep our night sky guide up-to-date and just generally helping to keep the wheels turning around here. Marcy has enjoyed stargazing since she was a child, going on family camping trips under the dark skies of Wyoming. She bought her first telescope in time to see Halley’s Comet when it visited the inner solar system in 1986. She co-founded her local astronomy club and remains an active board member. Marcy taught astronomy at her local community college for over 20 years. She and her husband live in Wyoming, in a rural location, with an all-sky camera and super-good horizon views! And, their observatory will soon be ready to photograph the night sky.
“I can sometimes see the moon in the daytime” was a cosmic revelation that John Jardine Goss first discovered through personal observations at age 6. It shook his young concept of the universe and launched his interest in astronomy and stargazing, a fascination he still holds today. John is past president of the Astronomical League, the largest U.S. federation of astronomical societies, with over 24,000 members. He’s earned the title of Master Observer and is a regular contributor to the video series, “Global Star Party.” He has authored the celestial observing guides “Exploring the Starry Realm,” and “Carpe Lunam,” and “Take Your First Steps, an Introduction to Amateur Astronomy.” John also wrote for twenty years the monthly stargazing column, Roanoke Skies, for the Roanoke Times, and currently writes a bimonthly column, Skywatch, for Blue Ridge Country magazine. He has contributed to Sky and Telescope magazine, the IDA Nightscape, the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine, and the RASC Observer’s Handbook.
Our Editor-in-Chief Deborah Byrd works to keep all the astronomy balls in the air between EarthSky’s website, YouTube page and social media platforms. She’s the primary editor of our popular daily newsletter and a frequent host of EarthSky livestreams. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.
Kelly Kizer Whitt – EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube – writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She’s been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children’s picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.
Alex Hayes is the founder and lead editor of GTFyi.com. Believing that knowledge should be accessible to everyone, Alex created this site to serve as a trusted resource for clear and accurate information.
