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The night skies will light up for Skywatchers this month, so grab your telescope or binoculars. December 2022 features multiple meteor showers, lunar occultations, and a wintertime full moon also known as the “Cold Moon.” 

By the light of the “Cold Moon”

On Wednesday, Dec. 7 the moon goes full. The full wintertime moon in December is known as the “Cold Moon,” the “Winter Moon”, “Moon Before Yule,” or the “Long Night Moon.”

Expect it to be 97% full on December 6 and reach full illumination at 11:08 p.m. Eastern time on December 7. It is also 100% full on December 8. And by the next night, December 9 it will still be 98% full.

Geminids Meteor showers 

This month’s viewing highlight is the Geminid meteor showers. The annual event has already begun.  They started on November 19 and end on Christmas Eve. It will peak between December 13–14. This gives you over 30 days to catch this light show.

On a good night, 50 to 100 meteors per hour will streak across the sky. And in peak times up to 125 meteors, in an hour can be seen.

Cloudy nights can block your views of the light show. And the bright full moon makes it difficult to observe the meteors by washing out the lights. 

A clear night between midnight and dawn is the ideal time to watch the sky. You need to be looking toward the constellation Gemini which is almost directly overhead in December.

The Geminid meteors were first viewed by astronomers in 1862 in England. It varies from most other meteor showers because it isn’t linked to an active comet.

In 1983 NASA scientists discovered that the asteroid 3200 Phaethon is the source of the shooting lights. This makes it the only known meteor shower linked to an asteroid instead of a comet.

The meteors shed by 3200 Phaethon is different than those that come from comets. They are typically rockier and burn slower when they hit the Earth’s atmosphere. This means they are visible longer. And may appear seconds more than the icy meteors that comets drop.

Ursid meteor showers

The Ursid meteor shower is active between Dec. 17-26 and will peak on Dec. 22-23. 

The Ursid meteor shower is of shorter duration than the Geminids. It lasts from December 13 to December 24. And it only spits out around 5 to 8 meteors an hour. 

Ursid meteors are linked to 8P/Tuttle. It is an icy comet that orbits around the sun every 13.5 years. 

Anyone who likes to navigate the sky should be aware that December 21 to December 24 will be high visibility viewing. The bright Cold Moon will lose its light as it slowly shrinks during this period. And with any luck, you can see both beautiful meteor showers on any cloudless night until Christmas.

Lunar Occultations

A lunar occultation occurs when a planet disappears behind the moon. In December 2022 this happens twice. On December 5 the lunar occultation of Uranus occurs. On December 8 Mars will take its turn behind the moon.

Keep your telescopes ready it’s going to be a busy month for Skywatchers.