November 2025 night sky to feature supermoon, mysterious comet
Penn State’s Chris Palma told AccuWeather the top astronomy events to look out for in November 2025, including two meteor showers, a supermoon and a mysterious comet.
The next full moon will be the December ‘cold moon’ of 2025 — set to rise amid the longest nights of the year as a special, large, bright supermoon that will shine for days and give way to the spectacular Geminid meteor shower, followed by the winter solstice.
December’s supermoon will orbit closer to Earth than other typical full moons this year with the nearest point at 221,965 miles from Earth, according to the Almanac. It will be the third and final consecutive supermoon of 2025.
The cold supermoon is also known as the long night moon as it sets over the horizon during the longest nights of the year, approaching the December winter solstice.
The full cold supermoon will rise on the same night that the Geminid meteor shower starts.
The Geminids are usually the strongest meteor shower of the year and popularly known for producing bright and intensely colored meteors, shooting at medium-slow speeds from the constellation of Gemini.
Here’s everything to know about the next full moon, the Geminid meteor shower display and December’s winter solstice.
When is the next full moon 2025?
The next full moon of 2025 will be the December cold supermoon, set to rise, Thursday, Dec. 4, with peak illumination at 6:14 p.m. ET. It will rise low on the horizon — making it appear larger and brighter — and like the November beaver moon, it will rise around the same time for several nights, including Wednesday and Friday.
You can check moonrise and moonset times for your ZIP code by visiting the Old Farmer’s Almanac online.
What is a supermoon?
A supermoon happens when the moon’s orbit is closest to the Earth at the same time the moon is full. According to NASA, at approximately 226,000 miles from Earth, the full moon appears brighter and larger than a regular full moon, hence the term supermoon.
Because supermoons are closer to the Earth than normal, the illusion is that they appear larger and brighter.
Supermoons come in three and fours, consecutively. This year it started with September and ends in January 2026; the next cycle of full moons will not come again until November of 2026.
Why is it called the cold moon?
December’s full moon is most commonly referred to as the cold moon or the long night moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It usually occurs near the winter solstice, which is the longest night of the year, amid freezing temperatures that have settled in the northern hemisphere.
Other names for December’s full moon are derived from Native American, European and colonial sources, which include the drift clearing moon, and the little spirit moon.
What are the current moon phases?
- 🌑 New moon: Nov. 20
- 🌓 First quarter: Nov. 28
- 🌕 Full moon: Dec. 4
- 🌗 Last quarter: Dec. 11
- 🌑 New moon: Dec. 19
- 🌓 First quarter: Dec. 27
What is a meteor shower?
A meteor shower is celestial event that happens when Earth passes through the path of a comet or the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid during its orbit around the sun. The debris is called meteoroids.
Meteoroids enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds and burn up, streaking the sky with bright moving lights, like a “shooting star” from what appears to be a single point in the sky, called the radiant. They range in size from dust-like particles to boulder size.
These meteor showers are named for the constellation where the meteors appear to be coming from.
The best time of day to see a meteor shower is around midnight according to Space.com, and it’s best to go to the “darkest possible location, and wait about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.”
When will the Geminid meteor shower 2025 start?
The popular Geminid meteor shower display of shooting stars that light up the skies are set to start up on the night of the December full moon, Dec. 4 through Dec. 17 and peak on the night of Dec 13-14. They are named Geminids because meteors appear to radiate from near the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini the Twins, in the east on December evenings.
At its peak, under ideal dark skies, it is possible to see up to 120 bold, white Geminid meteors, or more per hour. They are known usually plentiful to watch from any angle in the Northern Hemisphere, even on the night before and after it’s peak.
The “most active meteor shower of the year” starts as early as 9 p.m., peaks around 2 a.m., lasting into the morning hours of the next day, according to the Almanac, streaking through the sky “every minute or two all night.”
The Geminids are the result of an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, different from others that usually originate from comets. When it gets very close to the sun, half of the distance of the innermost planet, Mercury, then it ventures out past the orbit of Mars, according to EarthSky, and its meteor material intersects Earth’s orbit every mid-December as the — Geminid meteor shower.
When is winter solstice 2025?
The winter solstice will bring us the shortest day of the year on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, with approximately 9 hours, 17 minutes of daylight.
To check how many hours of sunlight you’ll get and the sunrise/sunset times in your area, click here.
When is the January full moon 2026?
The first full moon of 2026 will be the January wolf supermoon, set to rise on Saturday, January 3, 2026.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist who covers trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic region.
