Night sky in December 2026
In December 2026 Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are in the evening sky, Venus, Mars and Jupiter in the morning, the Geminids peak around 14 December and the Moon is full on 24 December.
Times in UTC.
Moon phases
- Last QuarterTue 1 Dec · 06:09
- New MoonWed 9 Dec · 00:52
- First QuarterThu 17 Dec · 05:43
- Full MoonThu 24 Dec · 01:28
- Last QuarterWed 30 Dec · 19:00
The darkest evenings for galaxies and nebulae are in the week around New Moon. Moon atlas →
Planets this month
| Planet | Where and when | Constellation | Brightness |
|---|---|---|---|
 Mercury | Too close to the Sun to see this month | Ophiuchus | mag -0.7 |
 Venus | Morning sky before sunrise | Libra | mag -4.8 |
 Mars | Rises before midnight, best before dawn | Leo | mag 0.2 |
 Jupiter | Rises before midnight, best before dawn | Leo | mag -2.3 |
 Saturn | Evening sky, up until after midnight | Cetus | mag 0.7 |
 Uranus | Visible all night, highest around midnight | Taurus | mag 5.6 |
 Neptune | Evening sky, up until after midnight | Pisces | mag 7.9 |
Highlights
- Geminids meteor shower peak
Up to about 150 meteors an hour under a dark sky, good all night. The Moon is 21% lit.
- Ursids meteor shower peak
Up to about 10 meteors an hour under a dark sky, best before dawn. The Moon is 94% lit, which hides the fainter meteors.
- Moon and Jupiter close together
1.4° apart, a nice sight in binoculars.
Close pairings are measured from the centre of the Earth; whether you can see one depends on your location. The forecast shows the events visible from your place.
Deep-sky objects well placed in the evening
High in the sky around 22:00 local time in mid-December.
From the Northern Hemisphere
M45 · PleiadesOpen Cluster in Taurus
M42 · Orion NebulaDiffuse Nebula in Orion
C14 · Double ClusterOpen Cluster in Perseus
C41 · HyadesOpen Cluster in Taurus
M34 · NGC 1039Open Cluster in Perseus
C28 · NGC 752Open Cluster in Andromeda
M33 · Triangulum GalaxySpiral Galaxy in Triangulum
C5 · IC 342Galaxy in Camelopardalis
