This season is marked by the sparkle and glow of holiday decorations adorning buildings, trees, and fences. But if you look up at the sky between the late evening hours of Sunday night and early Monday morning, you may be privy to a different sort of spectacle: the Ursid meteor shower.
The low-key meteor shower, the final celestial event of the year, is active during the brief window of Dec. 17 to Dec. 26, with its activity set to peak on Dec. 21-22. During this time, sky-gazers in some parts of the world could spot up to 10 shooting stars streak across the sky per hour as Earth passes through the debris trail of a comet.
The Ursids are often overlooked since they fall during the holiday season. The meteor shower peaks around the winter solstice, when Earth is farthest from the sun. The solstice marks the longest night of the year, and this year coincides with a thin crescent moon, which will create dark skies ideal for meteor viewing.
What is the Ursid meteor shower?
The Ursid Meteor Shower is a subtle but reliable annual celestial event that occurs each December around the winter solstice. It produces fewer streaks of light than more prolific meteor showers like the Geminids or Perseids, but arrives at a time of year when long nights and dark skies favor careful observers.
During the Ursids’ peak, Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by comet 8P/Tuttle, a short-period comet that sheds dust and gas as it orbits the sun. As these fragments—often no larger than grains of sand—enter Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up, creating brief flashes of light.
Where in the world will it be visible?
From our point of view on Earth, the meteors will appear to radiate from near the Little Dipper in the constellation Ursa Minor, a pattern of stars in the northern sky that gives the Ursids their name.
This means that the Ursid meteor shower is visible only from the Northern Hemisphere, where the radiant point near the star Kochab in the Ursa Minor constellation remains above the horizon throughout the night. Meteors will appear to streak outward from that area of the sky in all directions.
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Viewing conditions are especially favorable this year, as the moon will be just 3 percent full during the shower’s peak, according to the International Meteor Organization, allowing for even darker skies. It will be a thin waxing crescent and will set before midnight, leaving darker skies for observation.
How and when can you best see it?
The Ursid meteor shower is best viewed with the naked eye, without telescopes or binoculars, which can limit the field of view, Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, told The New York Times. Meteors can streak across large portions of the sky, making a wide, unobstructed view essential.
The most favorable conditions for seeing the shower include a dark location away from city lights, clear skies, and little to no moonlight. Sky-watchers should allow at least 30 minutes for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. Light pollution, even in small towns, can significantly reduce the number of visible meteors.
Those hoping to time their viewing can consult real-time activity data from the Global Meteor Network, which tracks increases in fireball sightings. While a meteor can appear on any clear night, the odds improve when Earth moves through a concentrated stream of debris.
During the Ursids’ peak, meteors will appear between the windows of midnight and 5 a.m. ET Monday, according to Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society.
Viewing can begin around 9 p.m. local time, but the best chances of seeing the shower typically occur during the early morning hours before dawn, when Earth rotates into the path of incoming meteoroids, and the sky is at its darkest.
For comfort, observers are encouraged to dress warmly and plan to remain outside for an extended period, as meteor watching often requires patience.
What’s next?
With the winter solstice marking the start of the season, nights will gradually begin to shorten. Jupiter will stand out in the east this month like a “Christmas Star.” From Dec. 22 to 24, a waxing crescent moon will be visible in the southwestern sky after sunset. The first full moon of 2026, known as the Wolf Moon, rises on Jan. 3, followed by Jupiter reaching opposition—meaning Earth will pass between the planet and the sun—on Jan. 10.
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