See the last meteor shower of 2025—just in time for the winter solstice
Sky watchers may be tempted this weekend, when an underappreciated meteor shower will coincide with a new moon and the longest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.
Geminid meteor over Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island, Northumberland.
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Sky watchers, put on your gloves: The final meteor shower of 2025, the Ursids, will peak this weekend.
The Ursids are often preceded by the Geminids, often the most spectacular meteor shower of the year and peaking last weekend. This is because the Ursid meteor shower is generally rare – about five to 10 meteor showers per hour – so it’s important to catch it at its peak. The peak of the Ursid rain this year will begin in the evening of December 21 and continue till the morning of December 22.
Meteorites are named after the constellation from which they appear to originate. In the case of Ursids, that’s Ursa Minor, otherwise known as the Little Dipper. In particular, the meteors appear to originate from a bright orange star called Kochab, one of two stars that make up the outer edge of the Little Dipper’s bowl.
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To try to see the Ursids, go somewhere with a dark sky and be prepared to wait – it will take about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the light. Then find Ursa Minor to orient yourself. Turn your eyes skyward – meteors will be seen emerging from the constellations, but they won’t be limited to just that. Due to Kochab’s location near the North Pole, it and the Ursids will be visible all night long to most of the Northern Hemisphere.
Conveniently, the new moon will fall on December 20, and the winter solstice will occur the next day. The new moon means the sky will be dark enough for the Ursid to display. And the solstice will mark the beginning of astronomical winter and the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
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