Catch the Ursid meteor shower as it peaks just before Christmas
NEW YORK — The last major meteor shower of the year, known as the Ursids, will soon peak, bringing bright trails across the night and early morning sky. Compared to other meteor showers, it’s more subdued, but experts say it’s still worth seeing.
Meteor showers occur when space rocks hit Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds and burn up, forming fiery tails – the end of a “shooting star.” Random meteors are visible from Earth on a clear night, but more predictable meteor showers occur each year as Earth passes through streams of cosmic remnants from comets or asteroids.
The Ursids peak overnight from Sunday to Monday morning and will be visible until December 26 from the northern hemisphere. Skywatchers typically see five to 10 meteors per hour during altitude and there is a possibility of explosions of up to 25 meteors per hour, according to the American Meteor Society.
The intensity of a shower from Earth depends on the amount of debris and the brightness of the moon, which can blot out bright meteors. The Ursids contain less space debris than other showers like the Geminids, but the narrow crescent moon won’t be much of an obstacle when they peak.
No special equipment is needed to observe a meteor shower. To see the Ursids, native to a comet called 8P/Tuttle, bundle up and get away from the city lights.
“The darker your sky is, the better the shower will be,” said astronomer Peter Brown of Western University in Canada.
Meteors can be seen all over the sky, but any streaks will appear to come from a central point near a constellation that gives the shower its name. In this case, it is the constellation Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Dipper.
After dark, avoid bright cell phone lights, as your eyes will have a harder time adjusting.
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