Deane Morrison is a science writer at the University of Minnesota, where she authors the Minnesota Starwatch column. In this edition of Northern Sky, Deane explains what stands out in the sky this December (Perseus & Algol, a waning crescent moon, and the Geminid meteor shower) and the latest in astronomy news (the discovery of ice on Mercury and the findings of the first soil analysis from NASA's Mars rover, Curiosity).

Read this month's Starwatch column.