Menu

Sky Digest

Friday, 19 December 2025 | Default Location
Showing the sky from Greenwich, London. Log in to use your own location.
Excel

Tonight at a Glance

New Moon 0%
Dark window: 17:18 – 06:41 (13 h 23 m)

Planet Highlights

Jupiter mag -2.7 · 29° alt · Gemini Details
GRS transit tonight:
Europa Transit ends
Europa Shadow transit begins
Europa Shadow transit ends
Saturn mag 0.9 · 22° alt · Aquarius Details
Rings: Edge-on (rings nearly invisible) (0.8° north face)

Comets

PANSTARRS mag 6.7 · 32° alt · Pegasus Details
bright 2.15 AU Perihelion: Apr 19 (in 19d)

For Beginners (naked eye)

Double Cluster
NGC 869 Open Cluster
mag 4.3

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M42
Great Orion Nebula Nebula
mag 4.0

At 21:00 look low in the southeast

Orion
M31
Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy
mag 3.4

At 21:00 look high in the west

Andromeda

Binocular Targets

Mira
68 Cet Variable Star
mag 3.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Cet
M34
Spiral Cluster Open Cluster
mag 5.5

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M81
Bode's Galaxy Galaxy
mag 6.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the northeast

Ursa Major

Small Scopes (3–6 inch)

Castor
HIP 36850; Alpha Gem; 66 Gem Double Star
mag 2.0

At 21:00 look halfway up in the east

Gem
NGC 1245
Open Cluster
mag 8.4

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
M76
Little Dumbbell Nebula Planetary Nebula
mag 10.1

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Perseus
M77
Cetus A or Squid Galaxy Galaxy
mag 8.9

At 21:00 look halfway up in the south

Cetus
R Tri
Variable Star
mag 5.3

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Tri

Big Scopes (8–12 inch)

NGC 1220
Open Cluster
mag 12.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Per
C56
NGC 246 Planetary Nebula
mag 10.9

At 21:00 look low in the southwest

Cetus
C23
NGC 891 Galaxy
mag 9.9

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Andromeda
NGC 925
Galaxy
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

Tri
NGC 891
Galaxy
mag 10.0

At 21:00 look near the zenith

And

The Week Ahead

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu
🌑 0% 🌑 1% 🌑 3% 🌒 7% 🌒 13% 🌒 21% 🌓 30%

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Long Shadows of the Montes Caucasus

When the Moon is at its first quarter phase, the Sun rises along the Montes Caucasus as seen from the lunar surface. The lunar mountain range casts the magnificent, spire-like shadows in this telescopic view from planet Earth, looking along the lunar terminator or the boundary between lunar night and day. Named for Earth's own Caucasus Mountains, the rugged lunar Montes Caucasus peaks, up to 6 kilometers high, are located between the smooth Mare Imbrium to the west and Mare Serenitatis to the east. Still mostly in shadow in this first quarter lunarscape, at the left (west) impact craters reflect the light of the rising Sun along their outer, eastern crater walls.

Image credit: When the Moon — APOD is a service of NASA and Michigan Tech. U.

View on NASA APOD

Space News

Watch live: Artemis II launch

Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, is scheduled to launch on April 1, 2026, carrying four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon.

ESA — 31 Mar 2026

Europe's engines powering Artemis II

Europe's Service Module, built by ESA and equipped with 33 engines, will power the Artemis II Orion spacecraft's propulsion, life support, and guidance systems for the crewed lunar mission.

ESA — 30 Mar 2026

NASA Selects Intuitive Machines to Deliver Artemis Science, Tech to Moon

NASA awarded Intuitive Machines $180.4 million to deliver seven scientific payloads to the lunar surface as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative supporting the Artemis program.

NASA — 27 Mar 2026

NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

NASA has released the official countdown timeline for Artemis II, with launch teams at Kennedy Space Center and across the country preparing for the historic crewed mission around the Moon.

NASA — 26 Mar 2026

Plan your session before dark

Use Tonight to find targets, then add them to a Plan so you have a checklist ready when you're outside.

Open Tonight

Sign in to get this digest by email and customize it for your location.