The darkest time of the year is upon us and there are some celestial sights that will light up the night sky.

With over 14 hours of darkness now through the solstice, there are a few meteor showers, a supermoon and more beautiful moon and planet pairings.

First up are the moon and planet pairings.

Last week, you might have noticed that near the thin crescent moon was a bright non-shining “star” in the early evenings.

That non-shining star was the planet Venus!

This went on for a few nights and it was fun to watch the two objects grow farther apart each night.

Next up is Saturn on Nov. 10. This will be the night when the two are closest to each other, but then each night after you’ll be able to see the moon and planet grow apart.

The moon pairs up with Jupiter starting on Nov. 17, and finally the beautiful red planet, Mars on Nov. 20.

Next up is the next full moon and this one is the last and final supermoon of the year.

We had a series of four and this is the last one.

A supermoon isn’t an official astronomical term, but a word used to describe a full moon in perigee. While it describes a moon that is technically closer to the Earth, it’s really hard to tell if it looks bigger and brighter to the average person.

That’s why it’s always fun to observe either when it’s rising or setting and it will look huge no matter what.

The November full moon is also known as the Beaver Moon. The full moon takes place on Friday, Nov. 15 at 4:28 p.m.

It will just be getting dark by then and you’ll want to look on the eastern horizon to watch it rise.

Another fall meteor shower is underway and peaks on Nov 17-18. It’s the Leonids!

This time of year, from October through December, is just a continuous stream of showers.

With so many overlapping over the next few weeks, including the Taurids that are still ongoing, it’s hard to tell exactly which shower that meteor may have been a part of.

This shower is named after the constellation Leo. It’s the radiant point in the sky, where they appear to come from. Comet Tempel-Tuttle is the parent comet and Earth will be orbiting through the debris left behind from just over 20 years ago.

This shower is known for fast, bright and even colorful meteors. There could also be a few fireballs and Earth grazers in there as well.

Earth grazers are ones that stream close to the horizon and produce colorful trails.

Leo the Lion doesn’t rise until after midnight, so that’s the best time to try to view this shower.

Like with every other meteor shower, the light pollution in the tri-state area will affect viewing conditions as well as the weather.

This year, the full moon just prior to the peak may impact viewing and drown out fainter meteors.

This shower can be very unpredictable, according to several sources, including the American Meteor Society.

It surges with rich displays every 33 years.

Happy stargazing… and don’t forget to make a wish!