Eyes to the winter sky for meteor showers, a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse
Keep an eye on the forecast for clear night skies, so that you don't miss out on the astronomical events occurring throughout the season.
Despite the chilly weather of the season, long nights and still air make Winter an excellent time of the year for stargazing.
Here are the major astronomical events of Winter 2025-26:
Visit our Complete Guide to Winter 2025-2026 for an in-depth look at the Winter Forecast, tips to plan for it, and much more!
Winter Solstice
On Sunday, December 21, the Sun will reach its lowest point in the sky for the northern hemisphere. This marks the date of the Winter Solstice, which is the first day of astronomical winter and the longest night of the year.
The exact timing of winter solstice across Canada is:
11:33 a.m. NST,
11:03 a.m. AST,
10:03 a.m. EST,
9:03 a.m. CST,
8:03 a.m. MST, and
7:03 a.m. PST.
How much daylight you see on that day depends on your latitude. Locations farther south will see the Sun for longer, while those more to the north will see less. For those north of the Arctic Circle, the Sun will not rise again until 2026.
This solargraph, which was recorded with a pinhole camera, tracks the passage of the Sun through the sky from June 20 (the highest tracks) through December 20 (the lowest tracks), in 2023. (Bret Culp)
For example, Kingsville, ON (the southernmost community in Canada) will see 9 hours, 06 minutes and 43 seconds of daylight on December 21. Meanwhile, Edmonton, AB, will have 7 hours, 27 minutes, and 39 seconds of daylight, and the Sun will be up in Iqaluit, NU, for only 4 hours, 20 minutes, and 8 seconds.
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Meteor Showers
During the winter months, two meteor showers send streaks of light across our nighttime skies — the Ursids and the Quadrantids.
The Ursids are a relatively weak meteor shower, which is active each year from December 17-26. The night of the Winter Solstice, on December 21-22, is when this shower reaches its peak, producing its greatest number of meteors.
Although the Ursids peak typically only delivers around 10 meteors per hour, that number can occasionally jump to 25-50 per hour. We will likely see typical meteor rates for much of the night, with the chance of a short outburst of greater activity in the predawn hours.
The radiant of the Ursid meteor shower, near the Little Dipper, overnight on December 21-22, 2025. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
Ursid meteors can appear at any point in the sky above. However, tracing them back to where they originate from reveals that they stream from a point near the constellation Ursa Minor, which is where this shower gets its name.
With Ursa Minor so high in the night sky at this time of year, we can see Ursid meteors from sunset to sunrise. Since the Waxing Crescent Moon will set fairly early on the night of the Ursids peak, that will leave a nice dark sky for the rest of the night.
Next come the Quadrantids, which are active between December 28 and January 12.
A relatively short-duration meteor shower, it is nonetheless the best of winter and one of the three best showers of the entire year.
The 'radiant' for the Quadrantids is located close to the constellation Boötes, in the northern sky. Once there was a constellation named Quadrans Muralis in that region of the sky, which is where the meteor shower gets its name.
The radiant of the Quadrantids, in the NE sky, in the hours after midnight on January 3-4, 2026. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
The Quadrantids typically produce up to around 100 meteors per hour during their peak, which occurs on the night of January 3-4. However, this event is not well-timed for 2026, as it takes place only one night after a Full Supermoon.
Meteor showers are best observed from under clear, dark skies — clear so that clouds are not obscuring the view, but also dark to allow our eyes to fully adjust, to more easily pick out the brief flashes of light going by overhead. The light of a Full or nearly-Full Moon can spoil this by preventing our eyes from fully adjusting to the dark, which makes it more difficult to spot dimmer meteors.
As a result, the number of meteors seen during the 2026 peak will likely be around half of the typical amount, but possibly even less. Observers can minimize the impact of the Moon's light by facing north, and keeping the Moon out of their direct line of sight.
Earth at perihelion
At exactly 17:16 UTC on Saturday, January 3, Earth will reach its closest point to the Sun for the year. This is known as perihelion.
Earth's orbit around the Sun, noting the Solstices, Equinoxes and the timing of perihelion and aphelion. The image is not to scale, and the ellipse of Earth's orbit has been exaggerated. Credit: NASA/Scott Sutherland
We won't feel anything at the time, but if you want to mark the event, even if it's just to pause for a short break, here are the equivalent times across Canada:
1:46 p.m. January 3 NST
1:16 p.m. January 3 AST
12:16 p.m. January 3 EST
11:16 a.m. January 3 CST
10:16 a.m. January 3 MST
9:16 a.m. January 3 PST
Earth's average distance to the Sun, which is known as 1 Astronomical Unit, is equal to 149,597,870.7 kilometres. Due to the planet's elliptical orbit, we reach an average distance of 147,098,074 km at perihelion, while our average farthest distance (aphelion) is 152,097,701 km.
According to retired NASA scientist Fred Espenak, during Perihelion 2026, we will be 147,099,900 km away.
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The Moon
We will see three Full Moons during the Winter 2025-2026 season — January's Wolf Moon, February's Snow Moon, and March's Worm Moon.
The 3 Full Moons of Winter 2026 are shown in this graphic, including their popular names, and special details that set them apart from other Full Moons of the year. (Scott Sutherland/NASA GSFC, with data from Fred Espenak)
The Wolf Moon, on the night of January 2-3, is the last of four supermoons in a row, which began in October 2025. It is also the last full supermoon until November.
The Snow Moon does not have anything inherently special about it for 2026. However, it is still one of the largest non-super Full Moons of the year. Check it out near moonrise or moonset, when it is low on the horizon, to see it look extra big thanks to the Moon Illusion!
For the second year in a row, the Full Worm Moon will be passing directly through Earth's shadow, producing a Total Lunar Eclipse.
This graphic details the path of the Full Moon on March 2-3, as it passes through Earth's shadow, resulting in a total lunar eclipse. The timing here is shown in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC). (Scott Sutherland/NASA GSFC, with data from Fred Espenak)
Unlike the March 2025 eclipse, which looked roughly the same across all of Canada, this eclipse will look very different from one coast to the other.
In the east, including Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and most of New Brunswick, the eclipse will end as the Moon slips below the western horizon during the initial partial phase of the event. Those watching from farther east, such as St. John's, will see just the start of the partial eclipse, while for observers in Fredericton, the Moon nearly reach totality before it sets.
From western New Brunswick through to the west coast of the country, observers will experience the total lunar eclipse as the Moon turns a dusky red colour. The difference will be for how long. In total, the Moon will spend just over 58 minutes in totality. However, those in Edmundston, N.B., for example, will only have around 14 minutes of totality before the Moon sets. Meanwhile, totality will be visible in Montreal for roughly 25 minutes before the Moon slips beyond the horizon, and Toronto will see it for close to 50 minutes before moonset.
Observers from Windsor to Vancouver will see all of totality, with the Moon setting either during the second partial phase, when it has completely exited the umbra, or after the eclipse has ended.
The March 3 Total Lunar Eclipse, as seen from eight different cities across Canada. For seven of those locations, the eclipse ends prematurely as the Moon sets, with more westerly observers seeing more of the eclipse before that occurs. (Scott Sutherland/NASA GSFC, with data from Fred Espenak)
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The Planets
To start off the season, only two planets will be consistently showing up in the night sky. Saturn will already be high in the southern sky just after sunset, while Jupiter will rise in the east roughly an hour later.
This will be the standard for the rest of winter, with the two giant planets very slowly advancing farther to the west each night.
Meanwhile, the rest of the bright planets that we typically see at night will be stuck in our daytime sky at the beginning of the season.
On December 21, 2025, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible at night (bottom panel), but Mercury, Venus, and Mars are only up during the day, when we cannot see them (top panel). The thin Waxing Crescent Moon also seen in the top panel will become visible in the western sky just after sunset. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
Look up on the night of December 26 to see Saturn near the Waxing Gibbous Moon. On the night of January 3, the Waning Gibbous Moon will cross the sky with Jupiter.
If you find Jupiter on the night of January 10, this is when the planet reaches Opposition, when it is on the exact opposite side of Earth from the Sun. You will be seeing it at its closest and brightest since January of 2025, but more importantly, we won't see Jupiter this bright again until 2032!
Then, the Waxing Crescent Moon will be near Saturn on the nights of the 22nd and 23rd, with the Waxing Gibbous Moon near Jupiter again on the 31st.
In early February, Mercury and Venus will slowly emerge from evening twilight. Throughout the month, they will reach higher above the horizon, and during the last week or so of February, they will join Saturn in forming a triangle in the western sky just after sunset.
A triangle of planets in the western sky in late February. (Stellarium/Scott Sutherland)
By the end of February, it will be more of a challenge to pick out Mercury, as it once again dips back towards the horizon and becomes lost in twilight. Venus and Saturn will remain visible each night through early March, and will reach their closest on the nights of March 7th and 8th. Once the two planets pass each other in the sky, Saturn will continue on to follow Mercury into twilight, while Venus will climb higher each night until the end of the season.
Spring Equinox
On March 20, 2026, the Sun will be positioned directly above the celestial equator, marking the spring equinox for the northern hemisphere.
The exact timing of spring equinox across Canada is:
12:16 p.m. NDT,
11:46 a.m. ADT,
10:46 a.m. EDT,
9:46 a.m. CDT,
8:46 a.m. MDT/CST, and
7:46 a.m. PDT.
This officially marks the end of winter, and the first day of astronomical spring. Although the name 'equinox' means "equal night", the day of equal day and night ("equilux") actually occurs a few days before the equinox. Exactly how long before depends on how far from the North Pole one is.