2025, December 16: Winter Stars Rise in the East After Sunset: Capella, Aldebaran, and Taurus’ Star Clusters

December 16, 2025: Winter’s bright stars climb the eastern sky after sunset. See Capella, Aldebaran, the Hyades, and Pleiades, plus rising winter constellations on December evenings.

The Pleiades star cluster.
Photo Caption – The Pleiades star cluster. (U.S. Naval Observatory)

by Jeffrey L. Hunt

 Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 7:12 a.m. CST; Sunset, 4:21 p.m. CST.  Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program. Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times.

Look for Winter Stars

Auriga and Taurus, December 16, 2025
Chart Caption – 2025, December 16: Auriga and Taurus are in the eastern sky after sundown.

The winter stars march across the eastern horizon after sundown. Step outside and face east about an hour after sunset. The western stars in the Orion region of the sky that dominate the winter season are there. One of the first to appear is Capella – meaning “little she goat” – shining about one-third of the way from the northeast horizon to overhead.

The star is the fourth brightest visible from the mid-northern latitudes. Shining from a distance of under 50 light years, it radiates with the intensity of over 130 suns. Its yellow-white color is similar to the sun’s temperature and shade.

The Charioteer, Auriga, surrounds this bright beacon. Three dimmer stars nearby form “the kids,” and the broader pentagon shape of the constellation includes Elnath, one of Taurus’ horns.

Taurus

Mars Marches into Taurus
Image Caption – Mars as a artwork, stick figure, and patch on the sky.

Farther southward, topaz-hued Aldebaran – Taurus’ brightest star – is about 20° above the eastern horizon and nearly 30° to Capella’s lower right. This 9th-brightest northern star is about 70 light years away and shines with roughly 160 suns’ intensity.

Taurus’ two star clusters, the Hyades and the Pleiades, are pretty through a binocular. Aldebaran and the Hyades outline the Bull’s head, with the bright star marking an eye. The animal’s long horns are tipped by Elnath and Zeta Tauri. The Pleiades star cluster rides on the Bull’s back. Uranus is in the same binocular field with this cluster.

Stellar Parade

The constellation Orion rises into view during the early evening hours of February each year.
Photo Caption – The constellation Orion rises into view during the early evening hours of February each year.

Aldebaran rose at sunset on December 6th. Betelgeuse, entering the scene later this evening, rises at sunset on January 1st. Rigel, at Orion’s knee, rises January 4th. This is followed by Gemini’s Pollux on January 6th; Jupiter on January 10th; Procyon on January 24th; and Sirius on January 28th.

All of these stars are visible later during the night. For example, Sirius rises this evening about four hours after nightfall. During February, these bright stars dominate the southern sky after nightfall.

Step out this evening and each clear night to watch this parade of bright stars rising into view as autumn closes and winter opens.

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