Each Monday, I pick out North America's celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere), but be sure to check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.

It's a hotly debated topic in astronomy: what was the "Star of Bethlehem" or "Christmas Star?" Go outside this week, and you'd be forgiven for answering "planet" because there are currently three making that case -- insanely bright Venus in the west after sunset and Jupiter and Mars in the west after dark, both of which are close to the brightest they ever get. Festive planet-gazing aside, this week, we also saw some beautiful moon views. The solstice and a minor meteor shower.

Here's everything you need to know about stargazing and sky-watching this week:

Mars will come to opposition on Jan. 16, 2025, something it only does every 26 months as it swings close to Earth. That's why it's so bright -- and so obviously red -- and that's why tonight's sight of a waning gibbous moon shining just a degree from the red planet will be such a beautiful sight.

Before you go to bed, go outside and look to the east for a string of four lights in the sky: a waning gibbous moon topped by bright red Mars and two stars on top of each other -- Pollux and Castor in the constellation Gemini. The crescent of four lights of decreasing brightness will look like Christmas lights.

Rising late at night or early in the morning will be Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo, the lion, and a waning gibbous moon just a whisper from each other.

At 4:17 a.m. EST today, astronomical winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere as the sun hangs above the Tropic of Capricorn, the farthest south -- so lowest in the sky -- our star ever appears to be. What follows will be the longest night of the year, which, as luck would have it, will host an annual meteor shower called the Ursids. However, at between five and 10 shooting stars per hour at its peak, it is probably not worth getting too excited about.

If you've never seen Mercury with your own eyes, rise early and look to the easy for a reddish dot. Binoculars will help. The closest planet to the sun is currently as far as it ever gets, from Earth's point of view, and will shine relatively brightly, albeit low on the horizon close to Antares in the constellation Scorpius.

Today, we will see a moon in the last quarter (or third quarter), which will appear half-illuminated and rise after midnight. Over the next week, its rising time will gradually shift later by about 50 minutes each night, clearing the way for night skies that are darker for longer.