December brings one of the richest, most enigmatic meteor showers, the Geminids. Bright moonlight often spoils the annual show, but this year circumstances are ideal: The Geminids peak on the 13th, under a dark sky punctuated by a crescent moon that sets by twilight’s end. Get away from city glow and you will see meteors streaking across the heavens all night long.
WHAT’S UP IN THE DECEMBER SKY The planets are social this month. Venus cozies up to Mars and Mercury, while Jupiter slips behind the moon, an event called an occultation. |
DECEMBER 1 Saturn rises by 8 p.m., beginning a three- month window of optimum viewing. |
DECEMBER 5-7 Mars passes close by much brighter Venus in the eastern sky before dawn. |
DECEMBER 7 The crescent moon occults Jupiter, visible from the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. |
DECEMBER 13-14 Geminid meteors put on an excellent show, lighting the sky from 9 p.m. to dawn. |
DECEMBER 21 Winter begins at 7:40 a.m. EST, when Earth’s North Pole tips maximally away from the sun. |