The night sky in December 2026
Moon phases, meteor showers, planets and the best nights to look up from the UK in December 2026. Times are UK clock time (GMT) for central England.
Best nights to watch
- Geminids peak, nights of 13–14 and 14–15 December: Good. The Moon is 21 per cent lit and sets at 20:06.
- Ursids peak, night of 22–23 December: Poor. The Moon is 98 per cent lit and sets at 08:10.
- Moon-free dark skies on the nights from 3 to 14 December: the best nights this month for faint shooting stars, the Milky Way and deep-sky objects.
The Moon
Each day shows the Moon's shape in the evening. Shaded days start the best Moon-free dark nights.
Meteor showers
Geminids
Good from the UKPeak: nights of 13–14 and 14–15 December (maximum expected around 14:00 GMT on Mon 14 Dec, in daylight in the UK, so both nights are worth watching). Zenithal hourly rate: about 150 (what one observer would see in an hour under a perfect sky with the radiant overhead; expect fewer). Radiant: Gemini (near the bright star Castor). Parent: Asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
The Moon is 21 per cent lit and sets at 20:06. The best watching is from about 20:05 to 06:55, when the sky is dark, the radiant is well up and the Moon is out of the way.
Ursids
Poor from the UKPeak: night of 22–23 December (maximum expected around 22:00 GMT on Tue 22 Dec). Zenithal hourly rate: about 10 (occasional outbursts) (what one observer would see in an hour under a perfect sky with the radiant overhead; expect fewer). Radiant: Ursa Minor (near the star Kochab). Parent: Comet 8P/Tuttle.
The Moon is 98 per cent lit and sets at 08:10. Moonlight drowns all but the brightest meteors this year, so watch on the nights either side if the Moon is less bright then, or wait for next year.
Smaller showers peaking this month: Phoenicids (around 1–2 December, a few an hour at best); Puppid-Velids (several weak maxima, the main one around 7 December, a few an hour at best); Monocerotids (around 9 December, a few an hour at best); Sigma Hydrids (around 7–9 December, a few an hour at best); Comae Berenicids (around 20–23 December, a few an hour at best); Volantids (around 31 December to 1 January, in active years, a few an hour at best).
Also active: Quadrantids (peak around 3–4 January); Northern Taurids (peak around 11–12 November).
On any dark night you can also see a few sporadic meteors an hour, which belong to no shower. Rates are usually higher after midnight, when your side of Earth faces the direction it is travelling.
Planets
For the middle of the month. Magnitude measures brightness: the lower the number, the brighter, and anything brighter than about 2 is easy to see from a town.
- Mercury
- Mercury is too close to the Sun to see this month.
- Venus
- In the morning sky before dawn, low in the south-east, from about 04:45 until the sky gets too bright. Brightness: magnitude −4.6.
- Mars
- Comes into view in the east at about 22:45 and stays up for the rest of the night, highest in the south at about 05:05. Brightness: magnitude 0.2.
- Jupiter
- Comes into view in the east at about 21:55 and stays up for the rest of the night, highest in the south at about 04:25. Brightness: magnitude −2.1.
- Saturn
- Visible from dusk, starting in the south-east and highest in the south at about 19:05, until it sinks low at about 00:35. Brightness: magnitude 0.9.
Dates for your diary
- Tuesday 1 December, around midnight: The Moon near Mars. The half-lit Moon (53 per cent lit) is about 5° from Mars at about 00:10. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
- Sunday 27 December, evening: The Moon near Jupiter. The gibbous Moon (80 per cent lit) is about 4° from Jupiter at about 21:50. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
- Monday 28 December, before dawn: The Moon near Mars. The gibbous Moon (76 per cent lit) is about 6° from Mars at about 07:30. A pairing like this is a good way to find a planet for the first time.
December solstice: Monday 21 December at 20:54 GMT. The shortest day in the UK and the longest night: the best time of year for long hours of darkness.
Find a safe spot away from street lights, wrap up warmly and lie back so you can see a wide sweep of sky. Give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust and keep phone screens dim. No telescope is needed for meteors. Children should always watch with an adult. Never look at the Sun.
Read about every meteor shower, what a radiant and the zenithal hourly rate mean, and how moonlight hides faint meteors. Children can start with how to watch for shooting stars.