{"id":39987,"date":"2022-12-21T10:05:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T10:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=114013"},"modified":"2022-12-21T10:40:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T10:40:00","slug":"see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight\/","title":{"rendered":"See the Ursid meteor shower peak tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Iain Todd\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 21 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The Ursid meteor shower is set to peak tonight, making for a great naked-eye observing event for friends and family to enjoy as we approach the Christmas holidays.<\/p>\n

The Ursid meteor shower is generally active <\/span>from 17\u201326 December<\/strong>, with peak nights occurring on 21\/22<\/strong> and 22\/23 Decembe<\/strong>r.<\/p>\n

The peak of any of the annual meteor showers always makes for a great excuse to get the family wrapped up warm and get looking up at the night sky, but winter meteor showers such as the Ursids and the Geminid meteor shower are particularly good because there is so much to see in the night sky while you\u2019re waiting to spot a meteor.<\/p>\n

Read Pete Lawrence\u2019s complete guide to the Ursid meteor shower<\/a>, and read on for our top tips on spotting a meteor.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Find out when the next meteor shower<\/a> is visible<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Credit Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

However, the normally spectacular Geminid meteor shower was somewhat hampered by the presence of a bright Moon during their peak on 13\/14 December this year, so the Ursids may be the true meteor shower highlight this month.<\/p>\n

The best time to get out and see the Ursid meteor shower will be on the night of 22\/23 December<\/strong>, but you can still head out this evening to see if you can spot one.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Chart showing the radiant position of the 2022 Ursid meteor shower. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Observing a meteor shower<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When describing a meteor shower, astronomers talk about the \u2018radiant\u2019. This is the region of the sky from which the meteors appear to emanate.<\/p>\n

The Perseid meteor shower<\/a>, for example, has its radiant in Perseus, while the Lyrid meteor shower<\/a> has its radiant in the constellation Lyra.<\/p>\n

The Ursid meteor shower is so-called because its radiant is in Ursa Minor, which can be found in the sky next to the star pattern known as the Plough (part of the Ursa Major constellation.<\/p>\n

To be more precise, the Ursid shower has its radiant position close to the star Kochab (Beta (\u03b2<\/span>) Ursae Minoris).<\/p>\n

Use a starchart, a planisphere<\/a> or a smartphone astronomy app<\/a> to help you locate these radiant constellations throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
A red torch enables you to check charts without ruining dark adapted vision.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

How many Ursid meteors can you expect to see?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Ursid meteor shower has a typical peak rate of 10 meteors per hour, and its best to observe around 22:00 UTC on 22 December.<\/p>\n

The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of the Ursid shower is around 10 meteors per hour.<\/p>\n

ZHR is really a representative figure, though, as it indicates how many meteors you might expect to see during peak activity under perfect conditions.<\/p>\n

The real number will likely be lower.<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Watching a meteor shower doesn\u2019t require any fancy equipment: just clear, dark skies, warm clothing and some good company. Credit: Anthony Sabatino \/ EyeEm \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

How to see an Ursid meteor<\/strong><\/h2>\n
  1. Find a place that\u2019s dark and away from light pollution<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. If you have a back garden and live under dark skies, you can observe from the comfort of your own garden.<\/li>\n
  3. Turn off all the lights in your house to get things really dark.<\/li>\n
  4. Avoid using lights such as torches and mobile phones as this will spoil your natural night vision<\/li>\n
  5. Wait 20 minutes for your eyes to dark adapt,<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Wrap up warm, bring something to eat and perhaps a hot drink as well.<\/li>\n
  7. Look about two thirds of the way up the night sky<\/li>\n
  8. If you manage to see a meteor streaking across the sky between 17\u201326 December and appearing to originate from Ursa Minor , chances are you\u2019ve seen an Ursid.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
    \"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
    Use the Plough to help you find the Pole Star and Ursa Minor. This is the region of sky in which you\u2019ll see Ursid meteors during late December. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n

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    By Iain Todd Published: Wednesday, 21 December 2022 at 12:00 am The Ursid meteor shower is set to peak tonight, making for a great naked-eye observing event for friends and family to enjoy as we approach the Christmas holidays. The Ursid meteor shower is generally active from 17\u201326 December, with peak nights occurring on 21\/22 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39988,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-scaled.jpg",2560,1700,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-300x199.jpg",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-768x510.jpg",768,510,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-1024x680.jpg",800,531,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-1536x1020.jpg",1536,1020,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2022\/12\/see-the-ursid-meteor-shower-peak-tonight-2048x1360.jpg",2048,1360,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Iain Todd Published: Wednesday, 21 December 2022 at 12:00 am The Ursid meteor shower is set to peak tonight, making for a great naked-eye observing event for friends and family to enjoy as we approach the Christmas holidays. The Ursid meteor shower is generally active from 17\u201326 December, with peak nights occurring on 21\/22…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39987"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}