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What’s up in the night sky: December 2023

Welcome to our night sky monthly feature where we focus on easy and fun things to see in the night sky, mostly with just your eyes. This month: a great meteor shower viewing opportunity and lots of planets.

All month: Very bright Jupiter rises in the early evening east and is easy to see as it gets higher in the sky as the hours pass. 

All month: Yellowish Saturn is up in the evening sky. Fomalhaut, the only bright star in its region of the sky, is below Saturn.

All month: Super bright Venus is in the predawn east, dropping lower to the horizon as the weeks pass.

Dec. 9: Super bright Venus is near the crescent Moon in the predawn sky.

Dec. 9 , 2023 night sky snapshot
Dec. 9 , 2023 night sky snapshot The crescent Moon is near super bright Venus in the predawn east. The bright star Spica in Virgo is also shown. (Location: Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees north.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium

Dec. 12: New Moon

Dec. 13-14:  Geminid meteor shower peak. The Geminid meteor shower peaks Dec. 13-14, with increased activity several days before and after. The Geminids are usually the best shower of the year with 100+ meteors per hour from a dark site. This is a particularly good year to observe because there will be little moonlight interference with only a thin crescent Moon which will set very early in the evening. Learn more about meteor showers on our meteor shower page.

Dec. 15, 2023 night sky snapshot
Dec. 15, 2023 night sky snapshot Bright stars and constellations rise in the mid-evening including Orion the Hunter and the dog constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor following Orion. (Location: Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees north.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium

Dec. 17: The Moon is near Saturn in the evening west.

Dec. 17, 2023 night sky snapshot
Dec. 17, 2023 night sky snapshot The Moon near Saturn in the evening. Below them is the bright star Fomalhaut. (Location: Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees north.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium

Dec. 21: Bright Jupiter is near the Moon in the sky.

Dec. 26: Full Moon.

Dec. 21, 2023 night sky snapshot
Dec. 21, 2023 night sky snapshot The Moon near Jupiter. Also shown is the bright star Aldebaran (Location: Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees north.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium
The Milky Way over Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park

Learn more about the Night Sky

Our journey to know the cosmos and our place within it starts right outside our windows, in the night sky. Get weekly reports on what's visible and learn how to become a better backyard observer.

Bruce Betts

Bruce Betts

Chief Scientist / LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society
Read more articles by Bruce Betts