December 2025 Brings Two Dazzling Meteor Showers and the Winter Solstice

December 2025 will offer stargazers two major meteor showers and a key astronomical event. The Geminids and Ursids will light up the night sky, with the winter solstice marking the shortest day of the year. The Geminid meteor shower will run from 4 to 17 December, peaking on the 14th. At its height, observers may see up to 150 meteors per hour. This shower comes from 3200 Phaethon, a celestial body with traits of both an asteroid and a comet.

Later in the month, the Ursid meteor shower will reach its peak on 22 December. It typically produces around 10 meteors per hour, though rare outbursts have pushed this to 100–120. The Ursids originate from the periodic comet 8P/Tuttle.

Between these events, the winter solstice occurs on 21 December at 6:03 p.m. Moscow time. The Geminids will provide a spectacular display with high meteor rates. The Ursids, though usually modest, may surprise with a sudden surge. The solstice will signal the start of lengthening days in the northern hemisphere.