 It's the last month of the year and if you haven't gone outside yet, you definitely should because the sky has tons of presents to give you. This is what's up for December 2015. The final month of 2015 is going to be giving us quite a lot to look forward to, including a difficult planet, a beautiful nebula, a solstice celebration, and the most consistently awesome meteor shower of the last half century. So, while I talk about it, let's get in it. This is what you have to look forward to for December 2015. First up, the great nebula and Orion M42. Although included in last month's What's Up, it's a target that is too beautiful not to include throughout the entire winter. As was mentioned, a telescope will bring out the nebulous cloud-like detail, binoculars work as well, and even in light-polluted Los Angeles, it's possible to just barely identify M42 with your naked eye. With enough exposure and tweaking, even a basic DSLR attached to your telescope can yield great detail. Our next target is the planet Uranus. And yes, that's how you pronounce it, Uranus. The seventh planet from the Sun, its current distance is just under three billion kilometers away from the Earth. That distance means Uranus is quite a difficult target, a challenge even for experienced astronomers. It currently sits in the constellation Pisces. Binoculars are a requirement. A small telescope should yield you a small greenish blue disc, but don't expect to see any detail, even with a big telescope. Our third target, NGC 2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster. How festive! A cluster of stars that just so happens to appear in the shape of a Christmas tree. And its best time for visibility is December? You'll need a telescope to capture this target that sits a small 2600 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. An easy way to find the Christmas Tree Cluster is to look for the bright star Sirius and then move 20 degrees to the northwest. Another meteor shower is occurring this month, the Geminids. The remnants of an asteroid, 3200 Phaethon, are strewn about the inner solar system in a plume that the Earth crashes through every year in mid-December. Known for their slow speed across the sky and consistently delivering excellent shows year after year, the Geminids are best enjoyed like all meteor showers, a minimum 50 miles away from city lights. Expect a good show averaging about 120 meteors per hour. This is the highest average rate of all known meteor showers. Happy Winter Solstice to the Northern Hemisphere and happy Summer Solstice to our viewers in the Southern Hemisphere. It officially occurs December 22nd at 4.48 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time. And here's your moon phases for December 2015. Thanks for watching this space pod. I'm Jared Head. Which of these targets do you look forward to seeing? Well, let me know in the comments below. And don't forget to like and subscribe and follow us. We've also got a new formula for our Patreon campaign. We're now moving to a monthly system and have new milestones and rewards. And in fact, just yesterday we reached our first milestone. Check it out as we approach 2016 and consider contributing to our Patreon campaign. That way we can bring the wonders of the universe to all who may want to watch. So, until the next space pod, keep exploring.