As 2024 comes to a close, so does the final celestial show for skywatchers of the year: the Ursid meteor shower.
The Ursids will be most active between Dec. 21 and 22, peaking on the 22nd. This makes it a perfect focus for nighttime winter solstice skywatching in the Northern Hemisphere. The shower is expected to produce up to around ten meteors per hour that will be visible at most dark locations.
Marc Dantonio, an astronomer and founder of Sky Tour Live Stream Observatories, told The Debrief that although the Ursids’ forthcoming appearance won’t technically peak on the solstice, they will be visible during that time.
“The shower is relatively small, with only about 5-10 per hour visible from a dark sky site,” Dantonio says. However, occasional bursts of up to 25 meteors per hour have been reported.
Passing Through a Comet’s Debris
According to NASA, meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid. Approximately 30 meteor showers occur annually and are visible to Earth’s observers. A few of these showers have been around for more than 100 years.
Comets leave dusty tails behind them, which Dantonio likens to the character Pig Pen from the Peanuts gang featured in Charlie Brown cartoons. “This dust sits there, and as Earth goes through its orbit, this millions of miles wide swatch of cometary tail debris can fall into Earth’s atmosphere, pulled by our gravity. This gives rise to the meteor showers we see throughout the year.”
“Since meteor showers are the result of Earth passing through comet tails, we must consider that comets were created when our solar system was formed. So they show us a glimpse of the early Solar System, and by examining comet tails, we learn how comets formed and what material the Solar System had at its disposal to create the planets 4.6 billion years ago,” Dantonio told The Debrief.
“Comets are that old,” he added.
Astronomers get the names of the Meteor showers from the constellations in which their radiant is located. For example, Perseids are associated with Perseus, and the Ursid meteor shower originates from the constellation Ursa Minor, commonly known as the Little Dipper.
Where to Look, and How to Prepare
Dantonio says that the upcoming Ursids show will be visible to most viewers in the USA. While watching the shower, be prepared to catch a few bright fireballs in the sky that could be visible on moonlit nights. For the best view of the Ursid meteor shower, head outside around midnight when the moon is still low in the sky. Meteor showers are most enjoyable when viewed with the naked eye.
“In the case of a meteor shower, the best preparation is a blanket, warm hot chocolate, and heavy clothing for these Ursids,” Dantonio says. “It will be chilly, and you will see them best after midnight!
“Look at the North Star by finding the Big Dipper and drawing a straight line through the end to the stars of the handle of the Big Dipper, which takes you to the North Star.
Surprisingly, Dantonio notes that the North Star is not very bright, although it is visible from most reasonably dark areas and even under conditions where light pollution occurs.
“You may not see Kochab in the Little Dipper, but you just need to look North,” Dantonio said.
“The meteors will do the rest!”
Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.