Top astronomy events for December 2024

AccuWeather

From mighty Jupiter dominating the night sky to shooting stars streaking across the starry winter sky, here are the top astronomy events for December 2024.

Transcript

00:00December 7th will mark the best night of the year to observe the largest planet in our

00:11solar system, Jupiter.

00:13Mighty Jupiter will dominate the night sky throughout the rest of the month, and with

00:18a telescope, you can catch a glimpse of the gas giant's great red spot and its largest

00:24moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa.

00:29The best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids, peak on the night of December 12th through

00:34the 13th.

00:35Now, that peak shower normally produces 120 meteors per hour, but beware of a nearly full

00:43moon.

00:44Find a dark area of the sky without the moon in sight.

00:47Speaking of the moon, the night of December 14th and the 15th will showcase the rise of

00:52the cold moon, named after the arrival of winter.

00:56It is the last full moon of 2024.

00:59If winter's got you down, maybe some shooting stars will cheer you up.

01:04Just one night after the solstice, catch the peak of the Ursan meteor shower on the night

01:09of December 21st through the 22nd, with a rate of about 10 meteors per hour.

01:16Reporting for AccuWeather, I'm Brie Guy.

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