The night sky has celebrations to behold for the months transitioning into the new year. If Denver skies stay clear and crisp, the moon, stars, and other astronomical objects will dazzle amateur astronomers during December and January. These winter months promise incredible viewing of planets to the naked eye as well as a couple of meteor showers to liven the holiday festivities. 

Starting off December strong, a supermoon will envelop the sky on the 4th, making it 7.9% bigger and 15% brighter than a regular full moon. They are also considered rare since supermoons only occur when the phase of a full moon coincides during its closest orbit to Earth. This specific moon is dubbed the ‘Full Cold Moon’ or the ‘Long Night Moon’ according to Mohawk and Mohican American Indigenous tribes, respectively.  

The Geminid meteor shower will return this year during the month of December—officially active from the 4th through the 20th. This meteor shower is a product of an asteroid called ‘3200 Phaethon’ and is made of debris particles called Geminids which were left behind by a previous collision. The shower has reoccurred for the past 200 years, and its orbit only grows stronger due to Jupiter’s gravity pulling it closer to Earth’s skies. Although visible from the atmosphere for most of the month, the shower’s most visible night will occur December 13th into the morning of Sunday, the 14th, with an estimate of 120 meteors per hour. There will be little light interference from the waning crescent moon during the shower’s peak, so the meteors will be bright and colorful, according to past reports.  

A less impressive meteor shower featuring occasional bursts of 5-10 meteors per hour will be visible on the night of December 21st through the 22nd. This is the Ursid Meteor Shower referring to its better visibility near the Ursa Minor, or little bear, constellation. Although it is considered minor in comparison to the Geminid meteor shower, it does stand as an event to celebrate the Winter Solstice—nature’s start of winter and the longest night of the year.  

A handful of the solar system’s planets can be viewed in the coming months, either via the naked eye, a pair of binoculars, or a telescope. In the eastern sky just before sunrise on December 7th, Mercury will be visible to the naked eye. This event is called the ‘greatest elongation’ where Mercury is at its farthest apparent distance west from the Sun.  

January 9th, 2026, is when Jupiter will be most visible to stargazers because it will be closest to Earth in its orbit, or ‘at perigee’. Jupiter will be brightest at midnight due to it appearing exactly opposite of Earth to the Sun. Consequently, this means the three planets will be in relative alignment. Despite its galactic grandness, Jupiter will appear as no more than a regular star, so its viewing is recommended to be done through binoculars.  

Just after dusk, near the Pisces constellation, Earth’s moon and Saturn will join close to each other in the sky. This event, called a conjunction or an applause, will occur before dawn on January 23rd, according to this guide to the night sky. While the celestial bodies will be considered close to one another, they will not be close enough to be seen through one telescopic view and are binocular-friendly. 

For the best viewing of these stellar interplanetary displays, find a dark spot away from city lights and other light pollution.