The waning moon shines close to the king of the planets on Dec. 7. Don't miss Jupiter shining close to the waning gibbous moon among the stars of the constellation Gemini on the night of Dec. 7.

As of Tuesday, Dec. 2, the moon phase is Waxing Gibbous. This means 91% of the moon is lit up tonight, according to NASA's Daily Moon Observation.

If you are into planets and also like to get up pre-dawn (much easier in the Northern hemisphere now that it is winter here), also on Sunday, you can catch Mercury at its westernmost elongation, the moment it's farthest from the Sun. Just look for it before the Sun rises, and without a telescope (you don't want to catch the Sun with a telescope).

The next full moon will be on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. It will officially reach its full moon phase at 5:03 a.m. EST (1003 GMT), but local moonrise times vary depending on location. The moon will still appear full the night before and after its peak to the casual stargazer.

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Children love looking up at the stars and imagining distant galaxies, but with just their eyes, they can only see so much. Telescopes for kids can help them ...