Minnesota Ursids Meteor Shower and Best Stargazing Xmas Nights!

Ursids

The Ursids are often neglected due to the fact it peaks just before Christmas and the rates are much less than the Geminds, which peaks just a week before the Ursids. Observers will normally see 5 -10 Ursids per hour during the late morning hours on the date of maximum activity. There have been occasional outbursts when rates have exceeded 25 per hour. These outbursts appear unrelated to the perihelion dates of comet 8P/Tuttle. This shower is strictly a northern hemisphere event as the radiant fails to clear the horizon or does so simultaneously with the start of morning twilight as seen from the southern tropics.In 2024, a half-illuminated moon will be present in the morning sky and will obscure the fainter meteors.

Shower details – Radiant: 14:38 +75.4° – ZHR: 10 – Velocity: 20.5 miles/sec (medium – 33.1km/sec) – Parent Object: 8P/Tuttle

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