Don’t Miss These Astrophotography Opportunities in December 2025

Every month brings some unique astronomical events that you can see with the naked eye and photograph. In this article, let us take a look at the astrophotography opportunities in December 2025.

December 5: Full Cold moon (Supermoon)

The final full moon of 2025 will appear on the 5^th of December. The December full moon is also known as the Cold Moon. This is going to be another supermoon of the year. Full moons are always a great opportunity to photograph them with a telephoto lens. It will also allow you to capture the moonrise in the evening and the moonset in the early morning.

December 7: Mercury at Greatest Western elongation

Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation of 20.7 degrees from the Sun.  Mercury will be at its maximum point above the horizon in the morning sky, making this the best time to watch and photograph it.  Look for the planet low in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise.

December 13-14: Geminid meteor shower

The Geminids are the king of meteor showers.  Many believe it to be the best shower in the sky, with up to 120 multicolored meteors each hour at its peak.  It is caused by debris left behind by an asteroid named 3200 Phaethon, found in 1982.  The shower is held yearly from December 7 to 17.  This year’s peak occurs on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th.  This year’s second-quarter moon will hide some of the fainter meteors, but there are so many Geminids that it should still be a terrific display.  The best views will be from a dark position after midnight.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but they can appear anywhere in the sky.

December 20: New moon

The new moon week is the best time to plan your dark sky trips. Capture the minute details of constellations, nebulae, and galaxies without any interference from moonlight. Whether you are a wide-field astrophotographer or a deep sky photographer, the nights around the new moon will offer you the best conditions for astrophotography.

Other opportunities throughout the month

Along with the celestial events mentioned above, the sky will present more opportunities to catch a few more objects. And some will be better than before.

The “Orion season” is in full swing

The Orion arm of the Milky Way, one of the most beautiful and popular regions to photograph, now rises early in the evening, visible right after sunset. It will be visible throughout the night. This will be a great (and your last) opportunity to photograph the jewels of Orion along with other nightscape and deepscape images.

Moon meets the planets

The moon will be positioned with different planets throughout the month. The month begins with a conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter on 7th December. On 18th December, the Moon will come close to Mercury. On 27th December, the Moon will meet the ringed planet, Saturn.

Sunspots

The sun is undergoing what is called the “solar maximum”. During this period, the activity on the solar surface remains high. This would be a great opportunity to photograph the sunspots using a white-light filter attached to your telephoto lens or a dedicated solar telescope.

[It is mandatory to follow precautions during solar photography. Make sure the filter is tightly and correctly attached to the lens. Do not look at the sun with your naked eyes or through the viewfinder of your camera.]

Hope you have a great month with lots of astrophotography opportunities ahead.

Clear skies!

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