The Ursid meteor shower 2024: How to watch

When does the Ursid meteor shower peak?

The 2024 Ursid meteor shower peaks on the night between December 21 and December 22. The Ursids are expected to produce up to 10 meteors per hour at a dark site, though viewers sometimes see bursts of up to 25. A half Moon will make fewer meteors visible around the shower's peak this year.

The Ursids will be limited almost entirely to viewers in the Northern Hemisphere. Use timeanddate.com to find ideal times and viewing directions for your location, or check out The American Meteor Society's page to learn more. 

The shower will also be present, though less active, during the week before and after peak activity. 

What causes the Ursid meteor shower?

Like most meteor showers, the Ursids are caused by the debris of a comet or asteroid that once crossed Earth's path. In this case, the shower is caused by debris from a comet called 8P/Tuttle. The comet's 13-year orbit carries it as close to the Sun as Earth, and as far out as Saturn.

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Where can I watch the Ursid meteor shower?

The Ursids are mostly just visible to skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere. Meteors will appear to come from the area of the constellation Ursa Minor, which will remain above the horizon the entire night. Meteors will streak out from this area in all directions.

The best way to watch a meteor shower is from a dark sky site, so it helps to get away from city lights as much as you can. Skywatchers should go to the darkest place they can, let their eyes adjust, and look overhead — but avoid staring directly at the Moon.

What is a meteor? 

Meteors are also known as shooting stars, but they aren't actually stars at all. Meteors are streaks of light in the sky caused by dust and small rocks burning up as they hit Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds — tens of kilometers per second.

These small particles create bright streaks of light you can see from the ground at night. In general, the bigger the piece of space dust, the brighter the meteor.

Space is full of dust, so on a typical night from a dark location, you might see up to 10 meteors per hour — no shower required!

What is a meteor shower?

Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through debris shed by a comet or asteroid. They reoccur at about the same time every year, when Earth comes around in its orbit and passes through the debris again.

Two of the best meteor showers of the year are the Perseids, which peak in mid-August, and the Geminids, which peak in mid-December. The Perseids often get more media attention because they occur during the northern hemisphere summer. However, the Geminids typically produce more meteors.

Meteor showers are named after the constellation that contains the radiant of the shower. The radiant is where the meteors appear to emanate from — if you draw a line back along the meteors, all of the lines will meet at the same point. This is an effect of the Earth speeding through the comet debris, meaning when you watch a meteor shower, you're seeing direct evidence of our planet orbiting the Sun!

How to watch a meteor shower

All you need to watch a meteor shower is your eyes, patience, and a mostly cloud-free night. Go out, get comfortable, and stare at the sky. Typically the best view of a meteor shower comes between midnight and pre-dawn hours, because that's when you are on the leading side of the Earth, watching the comet debris come at you like rain hitting a car windshield.

You don’t have to stargaze in the direction of the radiant; in fact, meteors farther away from it will appear longer. It is often said that an ideal place to look is 45 degrees away from the radiant, but the most important factor is getting to a dark location away from light pollution, letting your eyes adjust for several minutes, and looking at the darkest patch of sky you can.

Go out, look up at the night sky and have fun!