What’s Up in the Sky – December 2025
- Leonardo Oosthuizen
- 01 December 2025
Here’s a guide to what’s up in the sky this December (2025)
It’s a rich month for stargazing, meteor showers, planets and deep-sky objects.
🌕 Moon & Solar Events
Cold Supermoon — December 4: December’s full moon is also the final Supermoon of the year, which means the Moon will look noticeably bigger and brighter than average.
December Solstice — December 21: For the Southern Hemisphere, this marks the start of summer — the longest day and shortest night of the year.
Because of the solstice, evenings will get longer, and summer constellations and southern-sky features will be rising earlier.
🎇 Meteor Showers & Comets
Geminid Meteor Shower — peak around December 13-14: This is one of the year’s best meteor shows. Under ideal dark-sky conditions you could see dozens of meteors per hour.Possible Puppid–Velid Meteor Shower activity — early December: Though overshadowed by the brighter Geminids, observers in the Southern Hemisphere may catch a few meteors from this smaller shower.
Comet 3I/ATLAS — closest pass around December 19: This interstellar visitor will approach its nearest point to Earth this month. With a good telescope and dark skies, it may be visible.
🔭 Planets & Southern-Sky Gems
Planets: Early in the evening, look for Saturn (along with Neptune nearby) — visible soon after sunset and setting by midnight.
Meanwhile, Jupiter rises later and remains visible much of the night, often standing out as the sky’s brightest planet.
Southern-sky classics: December is a great time to spot some of the southern sky’s “hidden treasures.” Among these:
Tarantula Nebula (in the Large Magellanic Cloud) — under dark skies and with a telescope, this nebula is impressive.
47 Tucanae — a bright globular cluster that can appear as a fuzzy spot to the naked eye under good conditions, much richer when viewed through a modest telescope.
NGC 6752 — another globular cluster in Pavo, excellent for viewing with a small telescope.
What It All Means for You in South Africa
With the summer solstice approaching, December nights in South Africa will be warmer and you’ll likely be out later — a great excuse to get a blanket or lawn chair and go stargazing.
Light pollution can be your enemy; try to find a dark spot away from city lights for the best chance to appreciate meteor showers and deep-sky objects.
Even without a telescope, you can enjoy bright planets and meteor streaks; but binoculars or a small telescope will open up richer sights (globular clusters, nebulae, comets).
With an interstellar comet passing, a strong meteor shower, impressive planetary alignments, and southern-sky deep-space wonders — December 2025 is shaping up to be a stellar month for skywatching.
Leonardo Oosthuizen
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