The Ursids meteor shower will strike on the solstice.
The solstice is almost here. On Wednesday, 21 December 2022 winter begins in the northern hemisphere and summer in the southern hemisphere.
At 21:48 Universal Time the Sun will hang above the Tropic of Capricorn, the farthest south our star ever appears to be.
As well as being as low in the southern daytime sky as it ever gets this solstice will come with something extra—a meteor shower.
Peaking in the early hours of Thursday, December 22 according to the American Meteor Society, the so-called Ursid meteor shower takes place during the northern hemisphere’s longest night of the year.
Sounds perfect? A lot is being made of a meteor shower occurring on the exact date of the December solstice, but there are some things you should know before deciding whether to go outside for an hour to catch some “shooting stars.”
Expect between 10 and 25 ‘shooting stars’ per hour
Observers will normally see 5-10 Ursids per hour during the late morning hours on the date of maximum activity according to the American Meteor Society, who also report that over 25 per hour have been reported in the past.
You may also see some Geminids
It’s hardly the strongest display of “shooting stars” of the year, but the Ursids peaks when the leftovers of one of the year’s strongest and most impressive meteor shower wanes. An annual display of “shooting stars” that occurs when Earth passes through the debris field of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, the Geminids meteor shower peaked last week and continues through December 24. They should add about four per hour to the total you might see.
The sky conditions will be perfect
Sky conditions have to be perfect for a meteor shower to impress. A dark rural night sky always helps, but so too does a lack of moonlight. A bright Moon bleaching the night sky isn’t going to be a problem because a New Moon is due on December 23. So on December 22, there will be a barely-lit 3% crescent Moon in the sky.
‘Shooting stars’ will come from the Little Dipper
Although they can appear from anywhere, the radiant point for “shooting stars” from the Ursid meteor shower is the constellation of Ursa Minor, “The Little Bear.” Also known as the Little Dipper, this small constellation is opposite the Big Dipper (part of Ursa Major) in the northern night sky and it’s shape is very similar. Ursa Minor’s three brightest stars are Kochab, Pherkad and Polaris, though finding the other stars in Ursa Minor can be a challenge without a very dark sky and/or binoculars.
Like Ursa Major, Ursa Minor is a circumpolar constellation i.e. it’s “up” all night, every night because it appears to revolve around its constituent star Polaris, the North Star.
It’s a good way to celebrate the solstice
The trouble with the solstice is that despite its importance as a waymarker of Earth’s journey around the Sun there’s nothing to see. It’s not a particularly strong meteor shower, but a few Ursids will come your way if you take the time to go outside stargazing. With the bright winter stars of Orion, Taurus and Auriga high in the southeast that’s easy to do, though if you keep your gaze fixed to the northern sky you’ll see some of the stars of summer—such as Deneb and Vega, and constellations including Hercules and Corona Borealis, Bootes and Leo—appear low on the horizon.
Don’t look from the southern hemisphere
The Ursids meteor shower is not visible from the southern hemisphere. That’s because the shower’s radiant point is in Ursa Minor in the northern sky. In fact, Ursa Minor itself contains the North Star, Polaris, which is not visible from the equator and below. The peak of the Ursids also coincides with the pre-dawn twilight in the southern hemisphere.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
