Bootleg Astronomers

2	Moon near Uranus (evening sky) at 0h UT. Mag. +5.8.
5	Moon near the Pleiades (evening sky) at 10h UT. • The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
6	Moon near Aldebaran (midnight sky) at 3h UT. • Aldebaran (Wikipedia)
6	Full Moon at 12:26 UT.
8	Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun at 10h UT. The elusive planet passes into the evening sky. • Superior & Inferior Conjunctions (Wikipedia)
9	Moon near Pollux (morning sky) at 15h UT.
10	Moon near Beehive Cluster (morning sky) at 19h UT. • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
12	Moon near Jupiter (117° from Sun, morning sky) at 1h UT. Mag. -2.3.
12	Moon near Regulus (morning sky) at 16h UT.
12	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 23h UT (distance 404,581 km; angular size 29.5').
14	Geminid Meteor Shower peaks at 12h UT. Major activity lasts almost 24 hours around peak time. Produces bright, medium-speed meteors at its peak (up to 80 meteors/hour). Most reliable meteor shower. Easy to observe (radiant shown on sky map). Best seen after midnight. • Observing the Geminids (Gary Kronk) • Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO)
14	Last Quarter Moon at 12:53 UT.
17	Moon near Spica (61° from Sun, morning sky) at 3h UT.
19	Moon near Saturn (28° from Sun, morning sky) at 21h UT. Mag. +0.5.
21	December solstice at 23:03 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point farthest south of the celestial equator marking the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere. • December Solstice (Wikipedia)
22	New Moon at 1:35 UT. Start of lunation 1138. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
23	Moon near Venus (14° from Sun) at 3h UT.
24	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 17h UT (364,797 km; angular size 32.8').
25	Moon near Mars (evening sky) at 5h UT. Mag. +1.1.
28	First Quarter Moon at 18:32 UT.
29	Moon near Uranus (evening sky) at 5h UT. Mag. +5.8. Occultation visible from Alaska, USA.

>>> All times Universal Time (UT). USA Central Standard Time = UT-6 hours. (DST = UT-5 hrs,)

Zodiacal Light is caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane of the solar system. Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1-2 hours after sunset, and look for a large triangular-shaped glow extending up from the horizon (along the ecliptic). The best months to view the Zodiacal Light is when the ecliptic is almost vertical at the horizon: March and April (evening) and October-November (morning); times reversed for the southern hemisphere.
• Zodiacal Light (Wikipedia)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)
• Photographing the Zodiacal Light (Weatherscapes)