Ursid Meteor Shower December 2024

Meteor Shower Over Florida
In the above NASA photo taken from the International Space Station, the lights of Florida are clearly visible to the right of the meteor. Cuba, the Florida Keys and the eastern Gulf Coast shoreline are also visible. Some brilliant flashes of lightning are also prevalent in the image. Image credit: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit


The Ursid Meteor Shower peaks on the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice, Saturday, December 21, 2024, and into the early morning hours on Sunnday, December 22, 2024, according to NASA.

This annual December meteor shower usually produces 10  to 15 meteors per hour. But during some years when the Earth passes through a denser portion of a debris trail left behind by a comet, the Ursids Meteor Shower can produce meteor outbursts as high as 45 meteors per hour.

Ursids can be seen on the nights before and after the December 21st peak, although they will appear less frequently.

Ursid Meteor Shower 2024 Start Time

The best time to view this December meteor shower is from after midnight until dawn local time on December 21st and 22nd.

How to watch the December 2024 Ursid Meteor Shower

The Ursids meteor shower can be seen anywhere on Earth’s northern hemisphere, depending on local cloud cover and artificial lighting.

Find the darkest place you can and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adapt to the dark.

Avoid looking at your cell phone because it will blind your adapted night vision. Lie flat on your back and look straight up.

Where to look for the Ursid Meteor Shower

Ursids meteors stream from a point called “the radiant” in the constellation Ursa Minor which means “Little Bear,” and is more commonly known as the Little Dipper.

Polaris, the North Pole Star, is the brightest star in the Little Dipper and appears almost motionless while the other stars rotate around it.

You can find the Little Dipper by looking toward the northern sky.

Once you have found the Little Dipper, the Ursids will appear to radiate from the Little Dipper’s bowl.

Where do the Ursid meteors come from?

Most meteor showers come from comets that spew ample meteoroids for a night of ‘shooting stars.’

Ursids are produced when Earth plows through a cloud of debris left by Comet 8P/Tuttle.

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