December 2025 Brings Two Dazzling Meteor Showers and the Winter Solstice

December 2025 promises a series of celestial events for stargazers. Two major meteor showers will light up the night sky, along with the year’s shortest day. Both displays offer impressive but very different viewing experiences. The Geminid meteor shower will run from 4 to 17 December. It peaks on the night of 14 December, producing up to 150 meteors per hour. Unlike most showers, it comes from 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid-like object rather than a comet.

The Ursid meteor shower follows shortly after. It reaches its maximum on 22 December, typically showing around 10 meteors per hour. In some years, brief bursts push the rate to 100 or even 120 meteors. This shower originates from dust left by the comet 8P/Tuttle.

Between these events, the winter solstice occurs on 21 December at 6:03 p.m. Moscow time. This marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Skywatchers will have multiple chances to observe shooting stars this December. The Geminids will deliver a spectacular show, while the Ursids may surprise with sudden flurries of activity. The solstice also provides a key moment in the astronomical calendar.