A Wintertime Celestial Jewel Box

Dennis Mammana
Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:00:00 -0800
Lifestyle

Week of December 21-27, 2025

I don't know anyone who isn't stunned by the brilliance of the winter night sky. At this time of year, the stars seem to sparkle more than at any other, and many folks think this is due to the cold weather. Well, that might contribute some, but the real reason is actually simpler than that.

You see, as our planet orbits the sun, our nighttime side faces outward in different directions throughout the year. During autumn and springtime, we face above and below the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, so we see relatively few stars in our night sky. In summertime, we see quite a few more, as well as the star-filled band of the Milky Way itself.
Updated: Tue Dec 16, 2025

Week of December 21-27, 2025

I don't know anyone who isn't stunned by the brilliance of the winter night sky. At this time of year, the stars seem to sparkle more than at any other, and many folks think this is due to the cold weather. Well, that might contribute some, but the real reason is actually simpler than that.

You see, as our planet orbits the sun, our nighttime side faces outward in different directions throughout the year. During autumn and springtime, we face above and below the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, so we see relatively few stars in our night sky. In summertime, we see quite a few more, as well as the star-filled band of the Milky Way itself.

During winter nights, however, we face away from our galactic center and toward the nearest and brightest stars in our cosmic neighborhood. It's really as simple as that.

Go outdoors a few hours after dark at this time of year, and you'll find eight of the 25 brightest stars glistening overhead. The brightest, of course, is Sirius, the main star in Canis Major, the great dog. At this time of year, you find this gem sparkling low in the southeastern sky shortly after dark.

Sirius is officially the most brilliant star in our nighttime sky, outshining Capella in Auriga, the charioteer, by more than four times. You'll find Capella much higher in the northeastern sky this month.

Following Capella are, in order of decreasing brightness, Rigel (marking the southwestern corner of Orion, the hunter), Procyon (in Canis Minor, the lesser dog), reddish Betelgeuse (the northeastern-most corner of Orion), Aldebaran (the brightest in Taurus, the bull), Pollux (in Gemini, the twins) and Castor (also in Gemini).

Now this is all quite impressive, but this year we have an even brighter beacon shining down from the constellation Gemini — the giant planet Jupiter — which now glistens some two and a half times brighter than Sirius!

If you have a small backyard telescope, this is a great time to aim it toward Jupiter. The planet will reach its "opposition" point on Jan. 10, 2026, and that means that, from now until around February, it will lie as close and as bright as it ever appears.

But, as they say in TV infomercials, there's more. This week, watch for the thin crescent moon low in the southwestern sky. From night to night, it will grow thicker as the moon drifts eastward in its orbit around the Earth. By Saturday, the first quarter moon will lie due south at sunset and will outshine all the stars and planets combined. And next week's full moon will be so bright that its light will obscure nearly all else in the heavens.

It's great to have this collection of celestial gems in our night sky during wintertime so one doesn't need to travel far from city lights to see them. Even stargazers in large cities will easily be able to enjoy the sky show.

Of course, if you do decide to venture out to a dark-sky site for stargazing, you will be even more stunned by the glittering jewels of our amazing winter night sky.

The earth faces the nearest, brightest stars in its cosmic neighborhood during winter nights.