Space Calendar: Why to look up in December

What to look for in the skies in December.

DEC. 4

Full Cold Moon (Supermoon)

The Full Moon occurs at 6:14 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 

4. Because the Moon is near perigee — its closest point to Earth— it’s classified as a Super Moon, appearing slightly larger and brighter than usual. As it rises at dusk, it’s a great opportunity for striking moon-on-the-horizon photos.

December’s Full Moon is most commonly known as the Cold Moon, a name from the Mohawk people that reflects the arrival of true winter cold across much of the Northern Hemisphere. It’s also called the Long Night Moon (Mohican) for the Full Moon nearest the winter solstice, when nights are longest and darkness lasts the most hours of the year. 

DEC. 13 and 14

Geminid Meteor Shower

The Geminids, active from Dec. 4-17, reach their peak on the night of Dec. 13-14. Under ideal dark skies, this shower can produce up to 120-150 meteors per hour. 

This year, the Moon will be a waning crescent that rises late during the peak, leaving the early evening hours darker than usual — perfect for meteor spotting. The meteors appear to radi-ate from the constellation Gemini, but they can flash anywhere across the sky.

What makes the Geminids especially fascinating is their unusual origin: 3200 Phaethon, a rocky object that behaves a bit like a comet. Instead of shedding ice, it cracks and crumbles when heated by the Sun, scattering dust and gravel along its orbit. Each December, Earth passes through this debris trail, and those tiny bits burn up in our atmosphere, creating bright streaks of light.

For the best view, head away from city lights, give your eyes 20-30 minutes to adjust, and lie back so you can take in as much sky as possible. The show builds through the late evening and continues until dawn, when the radiant is high overhead. Dress warmly, stay patient, and enjoy one of the year’s most depend-able and spectacular meteor displays.

DEC. 21

Winter Solstice

At 10:03 a.m. EST, the Northern Hemisphere reaches the 

winter solstice — the moment when Earth’s North Pole is tilted farthest from the Sun. This tilt causes sunlight to arrive at a low-er angle and spread out covering more area, bringing cooler tem-peratures and shorter days the farther you are from the equator.

The solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, as the Sun takes its lowest, shortest path across the sky. After the solstice, daylight slowly begins to return. In central North Carolina, the Sun will shine for 9 hours, 44 minutes and 18 seconds, marking the official start of astronomical winter.

Ursid Meteor Shower

The Ursids are a small but charming meteor shower active Dec. 17-26, peaking before dawn on Dec. 22 with about 5-10 meteors per hour under dark skies. This year’s thin crescent Moon rises late, leaving early morning hours ideal for viewing.

  The shower comes from dust left by Comet 8P/Tuttle, which Earth passes through each December. The meteors appear to radiate from near Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) but can streak across any part of the sky. Find a dark spot, let your eyes adjust and watch the hours before dawn for a quiet, graceful close to the year’s meteor season.

DEC. 27

Moon near Neptune

The waxing crescent Moon makes a close pass by Neptune in Pisces. Grab binoculars or a small scope in the early evening to pick out the faint blue “star” a few degrees from the Moon.

Planets Visible This Month

■ JUPITER — Brilliant in the evening sky, rising in the east about 2 hours after sunset and climbing through Gemini; a showpiece all month.

■ Saturn — In Aquarius, visible after dusk in the southwest and sets around midnight — catch it early in the evening.

■ Uranus — Back in the evening sky October-December (near opposition in late November); binocular target in Taurus/Aries region under dark skies.

■ Neptune — Evenings in Pisces; best viewed with binocu-lars/scope before midnight and at the Moon pass on Dec 27.

Moon Phases

■ Full Moon: Dec. 4 — 6:14 p.m. EST 

■ Last Quarter: Dec. 11 — 3:51 p.m. EST 

■ New Moon: Dec. 19 — 8:43 p.m. EST 

■ First Quarter: Dec. 27 — 2:09 p.m. EST