Ursids

When are the Ursids?

The Ursids are active from about 20 Dec to 23 Dec each year and peak around 22 Dec. Up to about 8 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). For local times, the Moon and the best hours from your place, open the page for the year.

• Ursids 2026Active 20–23 DecPeak ~22 Dec
• Ursids 2027Active 21–24 DecPeak ~22 Dec

How to watch

The radiant is circumpolar from most of the Northern Hemisphere, so you can look all night; it climbs highest before dawn. Expect a handful an hour, though the Ursids have produced occasional outbursts. They are effectively invisible from the Southern Hemisphere.

Get as far from streetlights as you can and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the dark. Every glance at a bright phone screen resets that, so keep it away or use a red night mode.

Lie back on a reclining chair or a mat and take in as much sky as possible, looking about halfway up rather than straight at the radiant. Meteors can appear anywhere; the ones far from the radiant have longer trails.

You need no equipment. Binoculars and telescopes show only a tiny patch of sky, so they make you miss meteors. Dress warmly, even in summer, and plan to watch for at least an hour: meteors come in clumps and lulls.

Where do they come from?

The Ursids come from Comet 8P/Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 13.6 years.

Slow to medium-speed meteors, usually at low rates.