Full moon in December, meteor showers, solar eclipse and other celestial events until the end of 2020

The astronomical calendar for 2020 has been filled with celestial events, with supermoons, eclipses, rare blue moons, meteor showers and even UFO-like satellite streams. As we enter the last month of the year, December still has a few surprises in store for skygazers.

This December will see two meteor showers, a winter solstice, a conjunction of planets, a full moon, and even a total solar eclipse, depending on where you are in the world.

Here’s a full rundown of everything that awaits you for the month ahead.

The Geminids of 2020 will be one of the best meteor showers of the year.

Peaking on the night of December 13th and the early morning of December 14th, the shower will be visible for nearly two weeks from December 4th to 16th.

It will appear visible all over the world, although the best representation of the show will be in the Northern Hemisphere.

Its peak coincides with a new moon, so the meteors will appear brighter in the night sky without light pollution from the moon. Expect to see up to 50 meteors per hour, with the best time to look generally around 2am.

The moon will pass directly in front of the sun, forming a total solar eclipse on December 14.

Unfortunately, the show will only be visible to people in certain regions of the Southern Hemisphere.

The path of wholeness runs through a thin slice of South America, cutting through the southern parts of Argentina and Chile.

A partial eclipse will be visible in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador, as well as parts of Antarctica and southwestern parts of Africa.

The last meteor shower of the year will coincide with the winter solstice, peaking on 21 December.

Anyone looking at the night sky between December 17 and December 26 could also catch an Ursid meteor, commonly called a shooting star.

Even at its peak it will not match the Geminid rain, with only between 5 and 10 meteors expected per hour.

The shortest day of the year holds special significance for Paegans, who will gather at Stone Henge in the UK to celebrate the return of longer days.

But the day also holds significance for Northern Hemisphere astronomers, who will be able to enjoy the longest night of the year – weather permitting.

The Winter Solstice will also welcome what is known as the Great Conjunction, when the two largest planets in our Solar System unite in the night sky.

The December event will be the closest Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 397 years, with the two planets approaching 0.1 degrees from each other, about a fifth of the moon’s diameter.

The rare event can be seen looking west just after sunset, where the two planets will appear to form a bright double planet.

The last full moon of the year, also known as the cold moon, will take place on December 30th.

Being so close to the winter solstice, the December full moon will be surrounded by the darkest sky of any full moon this year.

For how the astronomical calendar of 2020 worked, the full moon in December will actually be the thirteenth full moon of the year.