161.

Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth. Fri, 22 Dec 2023 at 14:10 EDT (150 days ago) in Gemini

162.

Mercury at inferior solar conjunction Mercury passes around the near side of the Sun. Fri, 22 Dec 2023 at 13:50 EDT (150 days ago) in Sagittarius

163.

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter The Moon and Jupiter share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°36'. Fri, 22 Dec 2023 at 09:24 EDT (150 days ago) in Aries

164.

Close approach of the Moon and Jupiter The Moon and Jupiter pass close to each other. Fri, 22 Dec 2023 at 07:31 EDT (150 days ago) in Aries

165.

December solstice 22 December will be the shortest day of 2023 in the northern hemisphere. Thu, 21 Dec 2023 at 22:24 EDT (151 days ago) in Sagittarius

166.

Asteroid 4 Vesta at opposition Asteroid 4 Vesta makes closest approach to the Earth. Thu, 21 Dec 2023 at 16:34 EDT (151 days ago) in Orion

167.

Mercury at perihelion Mercury passes its orbit's closest point to the Sun. Wed, 20 Dec 2023 at 12:04 EDT (152 days ago) in Sagittarius

168.

December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2023 The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak. Wed, 20 Dec 2023 (152 days ago) in Leo Minor

169.

Moon at First Quarter The Moon reaches first quarter phase – appearing high in the sky at sunset and setting in the west at around midnight. Tue, 19 Dec 2023 at 13:39 EDT (153 days ago) in Pisces

170.

Lunar occultation of Neptune The Moon will pass in front of Neptune, creating a lunar occultation visible from Australia. Tue, 19 Dec 2023 at 09:16 EDT (153 days ago) in Pisces

171.

Close approach of the Moon and Saturn The Moon and Saturn pass close to each other. Sun, 17 Dec 2023 at 18:44 EDT (155 days ago) in Aquarius

172.

Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn The Moon and Saturn share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°28'. Sun, 17 Dec 2023 at 17:01 EDT (155 days ago) in Aquarius

173.

The Moon at perigee The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, making it appear fractionally larger than at other times of the month. Sat, 16 Dec 2023 at 13:52 EDT (156 days ago) in Capricornus

174.

Comae Berenicid meteor shower 2023 The Comae Berenicid meteor shower reaches its peak. Sat, 16 Dec 2023 (156 days ago) in Leo

175.

The Running Man cluster is well placed The Running Man cluster NGC 1977 (mag 4.2) in Orion's sword culminates at around midnight local time. Fri, 15 Dec 2023 (157 days ago) in Orion

176.

The Orion Nebula is well placed The Orion Nebula (M42; mag 4.0) culminates at around midnight local time. Fri, 15 Dec 2023 (157 days ago) in Orion

177.

Geminid meteor shower 2023 The Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak. Thu, 14 Dec 2023 (158 days ago) in Gemini

178.

Conjunction of the Moon and Mercury The Moon and Mercury share the same right ascension, at a separation of 4°21'. Thu, 14 Dec 2023 at 00:20 EDT (158 days ago) in Sagittarius

179.

The Moon at perihelion The Moon passes its orbit's closest point to the Sun, which happens each month around the time of new moon. Wed, 13 Dec 2023 at 10:39 EDT (159 days ago) in Sagittarius

180.

The Large Magellanic Cloud is well placed The Milky Way's dwarf companion, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC; mag 0.9), in Dorado culminates at around midnight local time. Tue, 12 Dec 2023 (160 days ago) in Dorado