Overview
- The full moon reaches peak illumination at 23:14 GMT on Dec. 4, closing out 2025 as a supermoon near perigee and visible to the naked eye where skies are clear.
- Astronomy sources note this “extreme” configuration places the moon unusually high for Northern Hemisphere observers, a setup not expected to recur until about 2042, while appearing low for the south.
- Observers are advised to look east around moonrise for the most striking view, with no special equipment required though binoculars can reveal craters and mountains in sharp relief.
- The moon will pass near the Pleiades on the night of Dec. 4, and Mercury reaches greatest western elongation on Dec. 7 for pre-dawn viewing.
- December’s sky also brings the Geminid meteor shower peaking Dec. 13–14 at up to roughly 150 meteors per hour, a new moon on Dec. 20, Ursids Dec. 22–23, and another supermoon on Jan. 3, 2026.