Viewing the Ursid meteor shower in 2024

The Ursid meteor shower is the least observed major annual meteor shower. In the Northern Hemisphere, December nights are cold and often cloudy. Another obstacle is the fact that it peaks just before the Christmas holidays, when many people are busy with holiday celebrations. This shower is completely invisible from the Southern Hemisphere because the radiant is too far north to be seen from the south of the equator at this time of year.

The Ursids are active from December 13th to 24th, with a strong maximum on December 22nd^nd. The exact time of maximum activity is expected to be between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. UTC, which corresponds to 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. EST and 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. PST. This time is extremely favorable for North America. Typically activity outside of the maximum is low, less than 1 shower member per hour. At peak activity, this source typically adds 5-10 medium-velocity meteors to the approximately 15 typically seen each morning hour in dark-sky locations. The moon will be near its last quarter phase and will rise around midnight local time on December 22nd.

At its maximum, the ursid radiant lies just west of the fairly bright (2nd^nd size) orange star known as Kochab (beta Ursae Minoris). For those unfamiliar with star names, this star lies in the shell of the Little Dipper. This area of ​​sky will be at its lowest point in the northern sky around 8:00 p.m. local time. This is the worst time to view the Ursids because most of the activity occurs outside your line of sight, below the northern horizon. As the night progresses, the Ursid radiator slowly rises higher into the northern sky and is best placed in the last dark hour before sunrise. To best observe this activity, it is recommended to look toward the northern half of the sky. It doesn’t have to be directly on the radiator, but it’s a good idea to have the radiator in your field of vision for better visibility of the shower. Don’t look directly up as this is the worst place to look for meteors. Lower your vision so that nothing on the horizon blocks your view. For most observers, about half the height of the sky is recommended.

Try to watch for at least an hour despite the bitter cold. Meteor activity is known to be variable and if you only observe it for a short period of time, it can occur during a lull in activity. With a tour lasting at least an hour, you can be sure to see multiple peaks and valleys of activity. An estimate of your cutoff brightness is important in your report because it provides the sky condition during your observation. This can be easily achieved by counting the number of stars visible in certain areas of the sky. Charts for these areas are available at: https://www.imo.net/observations/methods/visual-observation/major/observation/#table1. Areas 1, 7, and 19 on chart #3 would be the easiest to use. It is also recommended to use more than one range to provide more estimates. The conversion table is available in Table 2 at the link provided above. At least two limit size estimates will be requested, hopefully at the beginning and end of your session. If conditions change during your session, further estimates will provide more accurate numbers for your data. You can also find helpful tips for visual observation at: https://www.imo.net/observations/methods/visual-observation/ and https://www.imo.net/observations/methods/visual-observation/major/observation/. To submit your comments, we encourage you to fill them out an online visual form provided by the International Meteor Organization. You must register to provide your information. However, for those who do not wish to subscribe to IMO Journal, there is a free option. Note that not every meteor will be an ursid. There are also several smaller showers during this period, adding a few meteors to the hourly total. Additionally, more than 10 random meteors appear every hour for you to add to your count. Therefore, each meteor’s shower association must be included.

If you’ve never seen this shower before, this is a good opportunity, especially for observers in North America.

Tags: 2024 Ursids Ursid meteor shower