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Full ‘cold Moon’, ‘extremely bright’ Jupiter and stunning meteor shower – best night sights to see in December 2024
One event lasts right through until Christmas Eve
CAST those eyes to the skies this December because there's plenty to see overhead for stargazers.
The Sun has picked out three of the best sights to keep an eye out for on these cold winter nights.
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Full Cold Moon
A Full Moon is always one of the best sights to see in the night sky each month.
You don't need any special equipment to get a good view – and often modern phone cameras can take a decent picture of it.
But if you do have a pair of binoculars or a telescope, you can view the Moon in stunning detail when it's full.
The next Full Moon is due to occur on Sunday, December 15.
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According to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the Full Moon in December is due to appear at 9.02am in the UK.
But you should be able to see it in the morning or night.
It'll also look very full in the days before and after too, so keep an eye out.
The December event is often known as the Cold Moon. It's just a nickname however, and doesn't mean that the Moon is any colder than a regular Full Moon.
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Jupiter
Another great stargazing event to look out for is the Jupiter opposition.
That means it'll be extremely bright relative to the rest of the year.
What is a Blue Supermoon?
And you should be able to see it for the full night of December 7.
However, it'll be very bright all through early December.
To see it, look east in the early evening – and hope that it's a clear night.
If the skies are clear, Jupiter should be one of the brightest objects that you can see.
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But if you're struggling to pick it out, try using the Night Sky app.
This will let your phone point you to exactly where Jupiter is, allowing you to track it down in seconds.
Meteor shower
Several meteor showers happen each year, but the Geminids event in December is one of the best.
It takes place from November 19 right through to December 24.
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But the shower's peak – when you have the best chance of seeing shooting stars – is on December 13, 2024.
You should be able to see them all night, right through into December 14.
The bad news is that – as we mentioned earlier – the Moon will be approaching its full state.
That might sounds like a great thing for stargazing, but a bright moon can heavily impact your view of the sky.
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
If you want the best chance of seeing shooting stars, try blocking out the Moon somehow – either with an object, a building, or even your hand.
Shooting stars can appear anywhere in the sky, so keep your eyes peeled and let them adjust to the darkness.
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There can be as many as 120 shooting stars per hour during the Geminids event, so it's a great one to watch.
Just make sure to wrap up warm – it is winter, after all.
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