The new moon of December 2023 offers skywatchers dark skies for catching one of the year's best meteor showers.
The new moon of December occurs on Dec. 12, 6:32 p.m. Eastern (2332 UT), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. The young crescent moon will share the sky with the Geminid meteor shower, which is one of the most abundant meteor showers of the year, and two days later the moon will make a close pass to Mercury, making the elusive innermost planet easier to spot.
