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.
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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.