December Stargazing Highlights and a Holiday Break

• Episode 41: A Night at a Star Party
• Episode 35: Stargazing on Vacation
• Episode 31: Pulsars
• NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe
• Episode 45 on YouTube

Hey there, Star Trails listeners! Drew here, and I’ve got a quick update for you. The Star Trails podcast is going to be taking a little holiday break for the next month. We’ll be back in January with more stargazing tips, celestial stories, and updates on all the cosmic events coming your way.

During this hiatus, we’re going to take some time to recharge, brainstorm new ideas, and make sure we’re bringing you the very best stargazing content when we return. We’ll pick up right where we left off, exploring the night sky together.

In the meantime, keep looking up! December has plenty of celestial events to keep stargazers entertained. Here’s a quick guide to what you can expect to see:

Jupiter is at opposition on December 7, and will be at its closest approach to Earth, making it appear brighter and larger in the night sky. It will rise in the east after sunset and remain visible all night, positioned among the stars of Taurus.

The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks around December 13 and 14. While the Geminids are typically a highlight of December, a nearly full moon will make conditions less favorable this year. Expect to see around 10-15 meteors per hour under good viewing conditions.

The December full moon, known as the Cold Moon, arrives on the 15th and will reach peak illumination early in the morning, around 4 a.m. This bright full moon will dominate the sky, making it a good opportunity for lunar photography.

The Winter Solstice is December 21. This marks the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and is a perfect opportunity for an extended night of stargazing.

The Ursid Meteor Shower peaks around December 21-22. Although less active than the Geminids, this smaller meteor shower could produce around 5-10 meteors per hour. Best viewed late at night, the waning moon will provide darker skies later in the evening.

Mercury is at Greatest Elongation on December 25. Mercury will reach its greatest western elongation, making it easier to spot in the morning sky before sunrise. If you’re up early on Christmas morning, look to the east-southeast to catch this elusive planet.

How about joining me in a kind of “Star Trails Book Club?” My pick for December is NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson. It’s been one of the top astronomy books for more than 20 years and it’s a go-to resource for stargazers at every level. I’ve never read it myself, so I’ll be checking it out this month to enhance my own skywatching. Grab a copy and join me!

Also, if you’re a new listener, December is a great time to catch up on our back-catalog. Visit our website, startrails.show, where you can find all of our shows, including transcripts. 

Some of my favorite episodes from the past year include Episode 41, where I took listeners inside a local star party. Episode 35 is about stargazing on vacation, and if you want to hear something truly out of this world, check out Episode 31, where we listened to some pulsars, the “cosmic clocks” of the universe.

I’ll include links to those episodes in the show notes. As always, if you find some value in the show, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it! 

Until next month, clear skies and happy stargazing!