As the night grows long and the winter solstice approaches, there’s a host of astronomical events to watch out for, including a particularly striking meteor shower.
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Help keep the LAist newsroom strong,Winter 2025–26 will bring a range of exciting space events for skygazers to enjoy, starting this week. Keep reading for what to mark on your calendar as the nights grow long.that also happens to be near perigee: the point in the moon’s elliptical orbit when it’s closest to Earth.LA nonprofit got over $100 million from taxpayers despite failing audit requirements Weingart Center has been continuously out of compliance for nearly four years, according to an LAist review of records. Audits found multiple failures to properly account for taxpayer money.“That’s a very misleading term,” said Andrew Fraknoi, astronomer and professor at the University of San Francisco’s Fromm Institute — one of the astronomers who rolls their eyes at this particular label. This is because the average stargazer “cannot tell the difference between full moons that are regular or super: a complaint people sometimes have about cheap burger places, too,” Fraknoi said. Still, whatever you want to call this event, this week brings a good excuse to appreciate our nearest celestial neighbor.The Geminids meteor shower is considered one of the most reliable meteor displays of the year — and sometimes, it’s the most spectacular too.This winter, conditions are nearly perfect to view the Geminids, since the shower peaks overnight around midnight on Dec. 13 and 14, but the moon won’t rise until around 2 a.m., according to the American Meteor Society. That means the skies will be wonderfully dark during the evening and just past midnight.The Geminids are fragments shed from an asteroid-like object called 3200 Phaeton, which often produces bright, colorful meteors. And with the peak happening on a weekend this year, families can bundle up,Another reason to stay up for the Geminids: The next major meteor shower, the Quandratids on Jan. 3 and 4, are predicted to be largely washed out by a full moon.This one may be less something to “see,” but the solstice is still a momentous milestone for winter: marking the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.Astronomers believe that billions of years ago, Earth collided with a mini planet called Theia, which caused our planet to tilt by 23 degrees — giving our globe its seasons. “The Earth was in a traffic accident and has never been able to straighten out,” Fraknoi said. After Dec. 21, daylight slowly begins its long climb back toward summer — good news for anyone who doesn’t enjoy the deep, dark nights of winter.On Day 3 of 2026, at around 9:15 a.m. PST, our planet will be at “perihelion” — that is, at its closest to the sun. To many who aren’t on the lookout, the sun may just look the same as any other day. But it will actually appear slightly larger than any other day in the year.A fun fact: At perihelion, the Earth receives 7% more solar energy than when the planet is at its farthest from the sun.Just after the New Year, Jupiter reaches opposition — the moment when the giant planet sits directly opposite the sun in our sky. As the sun sets, Jupiter rises and stays visible all night long, making the planet exceptionally bright in January. NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of Jupiter’s southern hemisphere during the spacecraft’s 39th close flyby of the planet on Jan. 12, 2022.Since Jupiter reflects sunlight well, “it will be a brilliant point in the sky, easy to find with the naked eye,” Fraknoi said. And with a small telescope, you can even try to spot Jupiter’s moons. “Galileo’s first small telescope revealed four big moons orbiting Jupiter, forever destroying the notion that everything has to go around the Earth,” Fraknoi said. And this winter, these moons will be widely spaced and easy for you to see.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.At LAist, we focus on what matters to our community: clear, fair, and transparent reporting that helps you make decisions with confidence and keeps powerful institutions accountable.With federal funding for public media gone, LAist faces a $1.7 million yearly shortfall. Speaking frankly, how much reader support we receive now will determine the strength of this reliable source of local information now and for years to come. This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information. That’s why on this Giving Tuesday, we’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else.Megan GarveyHousing & Homelessness
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