Ursid meteor shower to dazzle night sky in 2025's final celestial event
by Mark Moran · UPIDec. 21 (UPI) -- The Ursid meteor shower peaks Sunday night into early Monday morning, and is the last major event on the celestial calendar this year.
Observers have the best chance to see between five and 10 meteors per hour between midnight and 5 a.m. EST Monday -- or between 9 p.m. PST Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday -- according to Robert Lunsford, a coordinator with the American Meteor Society.
The shower coincides with the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year as measured by daylight hours, when it is the furthest distance from the sun and the hemisphere experiences the most darkness of the year, creating the best atmosphere for the meteors to be visible.
The shower is only visible to people in the Northern Hemisphere because the point from which the meteors appear, the so-called radiant, never rises high enough in the sky to be visible in the Southern Hemisphere.
Related
- Geminids meteor shower peaks Saturday during overnight hours
- Southern Taurid meteor shower to peak this week with bright fireballs
- Orionids to peak Monday night with as many as 20 meteors per hour
The meteors, called Ursids, originate in the bowl of the Little Dipper, also known as the Ursa Minor constellation, near a bright orange star known as Kochab, according to Lunsford.
The Earth is currently passing through a field of particles left in the wake of comet 8P/Tuttle, which emits material as it orbits the sun, according to data compiled by Earth Sky.
While light pollution could make seeing the meteors difficult, Lunsford said star gazers will still have a good chance to see the Ursids away from highly populated areas.
"It is highly suggested that one try to view from the darkest location possible," he said. "Folks viewing from closer to cities can only see less than five per hour."
He said looking to the northern half of the sky will give people a better chance to see the Ursids, focusing just above the horizon.
Media showers remain one of the few astronomical phenomena visible to the unaided human eye.
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