December 2026 at a glance: Dec 14: Geminids peak (ZHR 150, Moon 25% lit); Dec 24: Full Cold Moon. Planets from New York: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
Dec14
Geminids peak (ZHR 150, Moon 25% lit)
Dec24
Full Cold Moon
Moon phases
Moon at 0h UTC each day
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1Last Quarter
242%
332%
423%
515%
69%
74%
81%
9New
101%
114%
128%
1313%
1421%
1529%
1638%
17First Quarter
1858%
1968%
2078%
2187%
2294%
2398%
24Full
2599%
2694%
2788%
2879%
2969%
30Last Quarter
3148%
Phase
UTC
New York
London
Sydney
Last Quarter
Dec 1, 06:08 UTC
Tue Dec 1, 1:08 am
Tue Dec 1, 6:08 am
Tue Dec 1, 5:08 pm
New Moon
Dec 9, 00:51 UTC
Tue Dec 8, 7:51 pm
Wed Dec 9, 12:51 am
Wed Dec 9, 11:51 am
First Quarter
Dec 17, 05:42 UTC
Thu Dec 17, 12:42 am
Thu Dec 17, 5:42 am
Thu Dec 17, 4:42 pm
Full Moon
Cold Moon; 356,738 km away; the closest full Moon of 2026 (often called a supermoon)
Dec 24, 01:28 UTC
Wed Dec 23, 8:28 pm
Thu Dec 24, 1:28 am
Thu Dec 24, 12:28 pm
Last Quarter
Dec 30, 18:59 UTC
Wed Dec 30, 1:59 pm
Wed Dec 30, 6:59 pm
Thu Dec 31, 5:59 am
Planets
at least 5° up, Sun 6° down
Pick a city. The chart runs from 4 pm to 8 am local time for each night of the month; coloured bars show when each planet is up in a dark sky.
From New York: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Before dawn, until about Dec 5
above 5° from 6:20 am; east-southeast, 7° up at dawn (on the 3rd)
-0.7
Ophiuchus
Venus
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 4:00 am; southeast, 30° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-4.8
Libra
Mars
From late evening, all month
10:50 pm–6:40 am, highest 61° (on the 15th)
0.2
Leo
Jupiter
From late evening, all month
10:00 pm–6:40 am, highest 63° (on the 15th)
-2.3
Leo
Saturn
Evening, all month
southeast, 44° up at dusk; below 5° by 12:20 am (on the 15th)
0.7
Cetus
From London: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Before dawn, until about Dec 2
above 5° from 7:00 am; southeast, 5° up at dawn (on the 2nd)
-0.7
Ophiuchus
Venus
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 4:30 am; south-southeast, 24° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-4.8
Libra
Mars
From late evening, all month
10:40 pm–7:20 am, highest 50° (on the 15th)
0.2
Leo
Jupiter
From late evening, all month
9:50 pm–7:20 am, highest 52° (on the 15th)
-2.3
Leo
Saturn
Evening, all month
southeast, 32° up at dusk; below 5° by 12:20 am (on the 15th)
0.7
Cetus
From Toronto: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Before dawn, until about Dec 5
above 5° from 7:00 am; east-southeast, 6° up at dawn (on the 3rd)
-0.7
Ophiuchus
Venus
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 4:30 am; south-southeast, 28° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-4.8
Libra
Mars
From late evening, all month
11:00 pm–7:10 am, highest 58° (on the 15th)
0.2
Leo
Jupiter
From late evening, all month
10:20 pm–7:10 am, highest 60° (on the 15th)
-2.3
Leo
Saturn
Evening, all month
southeast, 40° up at dusk; below 5° by 12:40 am (on the 15th)
0.7
Cetus
From Sydney: evening: Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Venus, Mars.
MercuryVenusMarsJupiterSaturnMoondark sky
Planet
When
Where (local time)
Mag.
Constellation
Mercury
Not visible (too close to the Sun)
–
-0.7
Ophiuchus
Venus
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 3:40 am; east, 22° up at dawn (on the 15th)
-4.8
Libra
Mars
Before dawn, all month
above 5° from 1:00 am; north-northeast, 43° up at dawn (on the 15th)
0.2
Leo
Jupiter
From late evening, all month
12:20 am–5:00 am, highest 43° (on the 15th)
-2.3
Leo
Saturn
Evening, all month
north-northwest, 54° up at dusk; below 5° by 1:20 am (on the 15th)
0.7
Cetus
Dates to note
Dec4
The Moon near Spica (2.3°)
Dec 4, around 17h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Dec9
New Moon
Dec 9, 00:51 UTC. The dark-sky window: the best week for faint objects and meteors.
Dec14
Geminids peak
Dec 14, 14:00 UTC; up to 150 meteors an hour under ideal skies (ZHR). Moon 25% lit at the peak. Best from the north. Best time for your city →
Dec21
December solstice
Dec 21, 20:50 UTC. The shortest day in the north, the longest in the south.
Dec21
The Moon near the Pleiades (1.0°)
Dec 21, around 22h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Dec22
Ursids peak
Dec 22, 22:00 UTC; up to 10 meteors an hour under ideal skies (ZHR). Moon 98% lit at the peak. Northern hemisphere. Best time for your city →
Dec24
Full Moon
Dec 24, 01:28 UTC. Cold Moon. The closest full moon of 2026 (often called a supermoon)
Dec27
The Moon near Jupiter (1.4°)
Dec 27, around 16h UTC. Closest as seen from Earth's centre; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°. If that moment falls in your daytime, look the evening before or after.
Dec27
The Moon near Regulus (1.3°)
Dec 27, around 22h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Dec31
The Moon near Spica (2.5°)
Dec 31, around 23h UTC. Geocentric; from your location the gap differs by up to about 1°.
Times in UTC. Separations are geocentric (from Earth's centre). Pairings closer than 3° (planets) or 4° (the Moon and a planet) are listed when the planets are at least 15° from the Sun.
Dates, peaks and ZHR: International Meteor Organization calendar. “Around” marks a peak computed from the solar longitude the IMO lists. Moon: illuminated fraction at the peak.
Space station pass windows
151015202530
ISS · New York
ISS · London
ISS · Toronto
ISS · Sydney
Tiangong · New York
Tiangong · London
Tiangong · Toronto
Tiangong · Sydney
1 pass23+not yet predictable
ISS from New York: Dec 1, Dec 3, Dec 8, Dec 10–15
ISS from London: Dec 1–2, Dec 10, Dec 12–15
ISS from Toronto: Dec 1–3, Dec 9–15
ISS from Sydney: Dec 2, Dec 4–10, Dec 12
Tiangong from New York: Dec 1, Dec 12–16
Tiangong from London: no visible pass in the predicted part of the month
Tiangong from Toronto: Dec 13–16
Tiangong from Sydney: Dec 16
Computed from the CelesTrak element sets (epoch 2026-11-04 08:52 UTC) for Nov 05 to Dec 16: passes at least 10° up, sunlit, in a dark sky (Sun 6° down), magnitude 4 or brighter. Beyond about 10 days the times drift as the station's orbit is adjusted, so treat later dates as windows, not exact times; the exact passes for your city are on the ISS and Tiangong tonight pages.
Your hemisphere
United States
New York
4:29 pmsunset (15th)
7:13 amsunrise (16th)
11 h 30 minfull darkness
Over the month the night length barely changes (+10 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
Over the month the night length barely changes (+10 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
Over the month the night length barely changes (+10 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus.
Over the month the night length barely changes (−10 min of full darkness from the 1st to the 31st). Planets: evening: Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Venus, Mars. From the southern hemisphere the Moon's lit side is mirrored compared with the calendar above, and the planets arc across the northern sky.
Dec 24, 01:28 UTC (Dec 23, 8:28 pm in New York, Dec 24, 1:28 am in London). Traditional name: Cold Moon.
When is the new Moon in December 2026?
Dec 9, 00:51 UTC. The nights around it are the darkest of the month.
What planets are visible in December 2026?
From New York: evening: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Mercury, Venus. From Sydney: evening: Jupiter, Saturn; before dawn: Venus, Mars. The tables above give times and directions for each city.
Are there meteor showers in December 2026?
Geminids: peak Dec 14, 14:00 UTC, ZHR 150; Ursids: peak Dec 22, 22:00 UTC, ZHR 10.
Computed by us from JPL's DE440 planetary ephemeris with Skyfield: phases, positions, magnitudes (Mallama & Hilton), separations, equinoxes and solstices. Full Moon names are the traditional North American ones. Meteor showers: International Meteor Organization. Eclipses: Fred Espenak, NASA GSFC. Planet times ignore hills and buildings; a planet 5° up needs a clear, low horizon.