By Pat Beers Block
Welcome Star Gazers to this month’s highlights of celestial events visible in Fluvanna County!
Fun events to view in December
This month starts off with an exciting full moon that will fill the horizon with light, and continues with the spectacular Geminid meteor shower which is always predicted to be one of the most prolific showers each December, and the appearance of another meteor shower, the Ursid meteor shower, another Class I Major shower. We can witness other exciting events including noteworthy planetary and lunar conjunctions (remote objects visually appear close to one another), learn interesting facts about this month’s full moon, and experience the annual winter solstice. Hopefully some of these events capture your interest and motivate you to spend time observing the night and early morning dark sky this month.
So let’s get ready to engage in observing these events by setting up your star gazing equipment, charging your cell phones and linking to Sky Guide, Sky View Lite, or any other star gazing applications that you find useful, and settling into your favorite viewing spot to witness the magic of the night and early morning skies!
Weeks 1 and 2 (December 1- 13)
On December 3, the moon will be in conjunction with the star cluster Pleiades (aka the Seven Sister or Messier 45) within the constellation Taurus.
A full moon appears on December 4 near the constellation Tauris. This full moon is the last Supermoon to occur in 2025. This Supermoon looks larger and brighter than other full and Supermoons this year because it is actually closest to Earth this time of the year. This full moon is known colloquially as the Cold Moon by Native Americans and early Colonists for good reason; this is a very cold time of the year and the sky is darkest because of the winter solstice. This month’s moon is also known as the Long Nights Moon, and the Moon Before Yule.
Mercury might be visible in the morning southwestern sky on December 7 when this planet appears in the sky.
In the evening of December 7, the planet Jupiter will be in conjunction with the stars Pollux and Caster within the constellation Gemini. Later in the evening, the moon will join this constellation resulting in a close collection of four celestial objects.
On December 8, the moon will be in conjunction with the Beehive star cluster (Messier 44) within the constellation Crab
On December 10, the moon will be in conjunction with star Regulus within the constellation Leo in the late evening sky.
On December 11, the moon will be in its last quarter, illuminated on the left side of the surface that faces Earth.
Week 3 (December 14-20)
Throughout the month of December, with the maximum intensity happening between December 13 through December 14, is the probable viewing of meteors from the Geminids meteor shower, the highlight of meteor showers this year (Class I Major meteor shower). This meteor shower emanates from the constellation Gemini, near the star Caster, and can be best seen in the late evening on December 13 throughout the early morning, until around 3am, on December 14th. Approximately 120-150 meteors per hour will flash through the late evening and morning sky on these dates. The moon will be a waning crescent (very small sliver) so the even less glorious meteors will be visible with the naked eye. Let’s hope for clear skies with no possibility of clouds or rain!
Also on December 14, the moon will be in conjunction with the star Spica within the constellation Virgo.
On December 17, the planet Jupiter and the star Pollux within the constellation Gemini.
From December 17 through December 21, with the highlight on 19, it may be possible to view Mercury in conjunction with the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius.
Also on December 19 the new moon phase will occur, a time when the moon will no longer be visible except as a ghostly sphere in the sky. This moon phase gives us the opportunity to better view the night sky since there will be no moonlight to obstruct views of stars and planets.
Weeks 4 and 5 (December 21-31)
The longest night and the shortest day will occur on December 21 when the winter solstice occurs. This event happens because Earth, with its tilted axis, is positioned with the northern half of the planet tilted away from the Sun, making our climate colder and the evening sky darker longer. This is our first day of winter.
Between December 21 and 22 we have another opportunity to witness a major meteor shower from the Ursid meteor shower (Class I Major meteor shower). This meteor shower emanates from the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper) and can generate about 10 meteors per hour.
On December 26, the moon will be in conjunction with the planet Saturn within the constellation Pisces.
The final event in December is the presence of a first quarter moon on December 27. The right side of its face will be illuminated.
In Summary…
So as our 2025 celestial and calendar years end, we should take time to reflect on all of the amazing star gazing experiences we had this year. The Supermoons were definitely pleasant highlights, as were both the routine and special meteor showers that occurred throughout 2025.
A final story of interest this month is NASA’s continued tracking of the travels of the comet 3i/Atlas that comes from far outside of our solar system. NASA expects to have another view of this comet on December 19. You might want to visit NASA’s website for updates on our space agency’s observations and conclusions about the comet that visits our solar system!
For information about noteworthy events, visit NASA’s homepage; the ISS phone app that tracks ISS movements; the aurora borealis website where flare-ups are noted that might be visible in Fluvanna county; and other space related websites noted below that provide information about rocket and satellite launches.
With the perpetual motion of planets and stars, the daily changing sky promises to entertain you for a lifetime! Until next month, keep your eyes facing the morning and evening sky to see the wonders of our universe as we Earthlings travel through it!
[information has been extracted from Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2025 – Sea and Sky (seasky.org); https://eclispe.gsfc.nasa.gov; https://highpointscientific.com/astronomy-hub; https://amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers; https://starwalk.space; https://spacetourismguide.com; Wikipedia; https://SkyatNightMagazine.com; theskylive.com; the Farmers’ Almanac; https://www.timeanddate.com; https://www.aianta.org/native-american-moon-names/]
