Ursid Meteor Shower 2020

The Ursid meteor shower originates from Comet 8P/Tuttle. The comet was discovered in 1790. This is a small comet that produces a weak but steady meteor shower at the end of the year.

As this comet travels close to the Sun, it leaves behind a trail of debris: small meteoroids spread out in space that cross Earth’s orbit. As Earth moves around the Sun, it passes through this stream of debris at certain times each year. When these particles enter Earth’s atmosphere at very high speed, they heat up through friction with the air and burn, creating the streaks of light we call meteors.

The Ursids are active from December 17 – 26, 2020, peaking on the night of December 22 and the morning of December 23 with up to 10 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.

This meteor shower is best observed if you are patient and watch from after midnight until just before dawn, from a dark location far from city lights. You don’t need special equipment such as a telescope or binoculars, just your naked eyes and good weather! The radiant of this meteor shower is in the constellation Ursa Minor, but meteors can appear anywhere in the sky.