December 2026 · Verified space events
2 verified events for December 2026: launches, meteor showers, planets and Moon phases. Every entry names its source, shows times in UTC and in your own time zone, and can be added to your calendar. Where an agency has not announced a launch day, the entry says "Date TBD" instead of guessing.
| Date | Event | Best with |
|---|---|---|
| Night of December 13–14, 2026 | Geminids Meteor Shower Peak | Naked eye |
| Night of December 21–22, 2026 | Ursids Meteor Shower Peak | Naked eye |
Widely considered the most reliable and prolific annual shower, produced by asteroid 3200 Phaethon rather than a comet. Can exceed 100 meteors per hour under ideal dark-sky conditions.
A minor shower from debris of comet 8P/Tuttle, typically producing around 5–10 meteors per hour — a quiet finish to the meteor shower year, close to the December solstice.
Weekly Space Weather Briefing
We add events only after verifying them. Get each month's calendar as soon as it is published.
December 2026 has 2 listed space events. Meteor shower peaks: Geminids Meteor Shower Peak and Ursids Meteor Shower Peak. Moon phases: New Moon December 9 at 00:52 UTC and Full Moon December 24 at 01:28 UTC. Launch dates marked NET are no earlier than and can change.
The full Moon in December 2026 is on December 24 at 01:28 UTC. A full Moon is above the horizon all night and brightens the sky, so faint meteors, the Milky Way and deep-sky objects are harder to see for a few nights around it; the New Moon is the darkest time.
No solar or lunar eclipses occur in December 2026.
You can download the free .ics calendar file for December 2026 directly from this page to sync with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook. Events whose date is still to be announced are left out until they are confirmed.
Every full moon, eclipse, meteor-shower peak, planetary opposition and elongation, close Moon–planet pairing, equinox, solstice and orbital extreme of 2026. Dates and times are calculated with an astronomical ephemeris and checked by automated tests, not copied from a list. Times are UTC; an event near midnight can fall on the previous or next day where you are.
First full moon of 2026, about 362,300 km away, near perigee and so a supermoon. It rises as the Quadrantids peak.
Peak night of the Quadrantids (radiant in Boötes, parent body Asteroid 2003 EH1), up to about 120 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2025-12-26 to 2026-01-16.
Earth is closest to the Sun, about 0.983 AU (147.1 million km).
Jupiter is opposite the Sun, at its brightest and closest to Earth for the year, up all night.
The full moon of early February, traditionally the Snow Moon.
A ring-of-fire annular eclipse whose path crosses Antarctica. Only a partial eclipse is seen from the southern tip of Africa and South America.
Mercury is 18 degrees east of the Sun in the evening sky, a modest apparition because it stays low in the west after sunset.
Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Neptune sit low in the west after sunset while Jupiter and Uranus are high in the east. Only Venus, Mercury and Jupiter are easy to see; Saturn is hard, and Neptune and Uranus need optics.
The Moon moves fully into Earth's shadow and turns deep red. Visible across eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific and western North America.
The last full moon of northern winter. It falls on the same day as the total lunar eclipse.
Day and night are nearly equal. Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern.
The first full moon of northern spring.
Mercury reaches 28 degrees west of the Sun, its best morning view of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Peak night of the Lyrids (radiant in Lyra, parent body Comet C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)), up to about 18 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-04-15 to 2026-04-29.
The first of two full moons in May 2026.
Peak night of the Eta Aquariids (radiant in Aquarius, parent body Comet 1P/Halley), up to about 50 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-04-19 to 2026-05-28.
The second full moon in one calendar month, which is the common meaning of a Blue Moon. The Moon is near its farthest point (about 406,100 km), so it looks slightly smaller.
Mercury is 24.5 degrees east of the Sun in the evening twilight.
A thin crescent Moon passes within 0.3 degrees of Venus in the evening sky.
The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of summer there; winter begins in the south.
The June full moon. It occurs just before midnight UTC, so on the evening of June 29 in the Americas and June 30 in Asia and Australia.
Earth is farthest from the Sun, about 1.017 AU (152.1 million km).
The July full moon. It washes out the Southern Delta Aquariids at their peak.
Peak night of the Southern Delta Aquariids (radiant in Aquarius, parent body Comet 96P/Machholz), up to about 25 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-07-18 to 2026-08-21.
Mercury is 19.5 degrees west of the Sun in the morning sky.
Peak night of the Perseids (radiant in Perseus, parent body Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle), up to about 100 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-07-14 to 2026-09-01.
Totality crosses Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain; a partial eclipse is visible across much of Europe and the North Atlantic. It is the first total solar eclipse on mainland Europe since 1999.
Venus shines as the Evening Star, 46 degrees east of the Sun, at its widest separation for this apparition.
Earth's shadow covers part of the Moon. Visible from the Americas, Europe and Africa.
The August full moon, which passes through Earth's shadow in a partial lunar eclipse.
A waning crescent Moon passes within 0.8 degrees of Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky.
A young crescent Moon passes within 0.5 degrees of Venus in the evening sky.
Day and night are nearly equal. Autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern. It is still September 22 in the Americas.
Neptune is opposite the Sun and at its best for telescopes. It is too faint to see without optics.
The full moon closest to the September equinox, so the Harvest Moon in 2026.
Saturn is opposite the Sun and at its brightest for the year. The rings are tilted only slightly toward Earth in 2026.
The waning Moon passes within 1.1 degrees of Mars in the morning sky.
The waning Moon passes within 0.3 degrees of Jupiter in the morning sky, close enough that the Moon covers Jupiter from some places.
Peak night of the Draconids (radiant in Draco, parent body Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner), up to about 10 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-10-06 to 2026-10-10.
Mercury is 25 degrees east of the Sun in the evening twilight.
Peak night of the Orionids (radiant in Orion, parent body Comet 1P/Halley), up to about 20 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-10-02 to 2026-11-07.
The first full moon after the Harvest Moon.
The waning Moon passes within 1 degree of Mars in the morning sky.
The Moon passes within 0.5 degrees of Jupiter on the same night it passes Mars.
Peak night of the Taurids (radiant in Taurus, parent body Comet 2P/Encke), up to about 5 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-09-23 to 2026-12-02.
Mars and Jupiter pass about 1.2 degrees apart in the morning sky.
Peak night of the Leonids (radiant in Leo, parent body Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle), up to about 15 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-11-03 to 2026-12-02.
Mercury is 19.6 degrees west of the Sun, the last morning view of 2026.
A full moon about 360,800 km away, near perigee and so a supermoon.
Uranus is opposite the Sun and at its best. It is faintly visible to the naked eye under very dark skies and easy in binoculars.
The gibbous Moon passes within 1 degree of Jupiter.
Peak night of the Geminids (radiant in Gemini, parent body Asteroid 3200 Phaethon), up to about 150 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-12-04 to 2026-12-17.
Peak night of the Ursids (radiant in Ursa Minor, parent body Comet 8P/Tuttle), up to about 10 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Active 2026-12-17 to 2026-12-25.
The shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere and the start of winter there; summer begins in the south.
The year's closest full moon, about 356,700 km away. It lights Christmas Eve in the Americas.