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Save this for later! From the Moon to the planets to the stars, read about the celestial events happening in December 2023!


Labroots recently shared key celestial events for November 2023 which offered skywatchers an opportunity to witness 16 days of events that included numerous meteor showers, comets, and planetary encounters. Now, Labroots wishes to share with you 22 days of celestial events for December 2023 that will ensure astronomy fans will not be disappointed. Each event is labeled in all caps for the type of event (e.g., MOON, PLANET, COMET, etc.) to provide skywatchers additional excitement to catch these incredible events!

December 1 (MOON and STAR): The Earth’s Moon will pass between 1–2 degrees from the star Pollux, which is located just under 34 light-years from Earth and resides within the constellation Gemini.

December 2 (MOON, STARS, and METEOR SHOWER): The Earth’s Moon will pass between 3–4 degrees from the Beehive Cluster, which is an open cluster of stars located approximately 577 light-years from Earth and is approximately 15 light-years in diameter. Additionally, the Phoenicids meteor shower will be at its peak with a variable number of observable meteors per hour.

A recent study published in Nature discusses the confirmation of an exoplanetary system based on data collected in 2020. The system, known as HD 110,067, possesses six planets whose orbits are in resonance with each other, or “in sync”, meaning which could offer profound insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems throughout the cosmos. All the planets exhibit sizes between Earth and Neptune, also known as sub-Neptunes, and was conducted by an international team of researchers using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the European Space Agency’s CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops).

Artist illustration of the planets within the HD 110,067 system exhibiting orbital resonances with the colored lines depicting their resonances with each other. (Credit: CC BY-NC-SA, Thibaut Roger/NCCR PlanetS)

“This discovery is going to become a benchmark system to study how sub-Neptunes, the most common type of planets outside of the solar system, form, evolve, what are they made of, and if they possess the right conditions to support the existence of liquid water in their surfaces,” said Dr. Rafael Luque, who is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago and lead author of the study.