SkyRef / Meteor showers

The Ursids meteor shower

Peaks 12/22 at up to 10 per hour under ideal conditions. Not currently active.

The essentials

Peak12/22
Active12/17–12/26
Peak rate (ZHR)10/hr
Speed33 km/s
Radiant RA14.5h
Radiant Dec+76°

Status right now: Not currently active.

What to expect

Circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes, so the radiant never sets.

The Ursids come from comet 8P/Tuttle, and enter the atmosphere at about 33 kilometres per second. That is a middling speed, producing the classic quick streak most people picture.

About that ZHR number

The quoted rate of 10 per hour is the zenithal hourly rate — the count you would get with the radiant directly overhead, under a perfectly dark sky, with no moon. Nobody's actual conditions match that. Real counts are typically a third to a half of the headline figure, and considerably less with a bright moon or from a town.

SkyRef scales the estimate by the real altitude of the radiant from your location and tells you when the moon is going to ruin it, rather than repeating a number you will never see.

How to watch

Do not use a telescope or binoculars — meteors appear all over the sky and you want the widest possible view. Lie back, look roughly halfway up, and give your eyes twenty minutes to adapt. Face away from the moon if it is up. Patience matters more than equipment.

Check tonight's conditions

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QuadrantidsLyridsEta AquariidsAlpha CapricornidsSouthern Delta AquariidsPerseidsDraconidsOrionidsSouthern TauridsNorthern TauridsLeonidsGeminidsUrsids