The annual phenomenon of Ursids meteor shower, named for its radiant point near the star Beta Ursae Minoris in the constellation Ursa Minor, will take place on Sunday, Dec. 22 night. The stargazers will be able to see 10 meteors per hour at its peak and the majority will be coming between 11 PM and 5 AM on Sunday.
Live streaming of Ursids meteor shower
YouTube channels will begin the live streaming at 4 AM UK time on Sunday/ 11 PM Washington time on Saturday. Check the live streaming here:
The month of the meteor shower
December is a month for which sky-gazers wait from the beginning of the year, as this is the month which is known for the Geminids. But this year nearly a full moon almost destroyed the beauty of the Geminids meteor shower event by lighting up the sky and squelching all but the brightest meteor streaks.
But, there is another astronomical event, which hardly gets any notice at all, Ursids and the reason is very simple- it is not as beautiful as the Geminids. But still, sky-gazers consider it a consolation prize, since they failed to witness the amazing Geminids this year.
Ursids meteor shower
At the end of 2019, the peak of this meteor display is due during the overnight hours of Sunday, December 22, into the early morning hours of Monday, Dec. 23.
This meteor shower appears from the vicinity of the bright orange star Kochab in the constellation of Ursa Minor, the little bear. It should be mentioned that Kochab's position is near to the north pole of the sky which means that the star almost never sets for most viewers in the Northern Hemisphere.
The meteor shower reaches to the peak during the overnight hours of December 22 and 23, which is also good news in terms of the moon, as the natural satellite will have shrunk to a thin, waning crescent phase when the Ursids reach their peak.
Earth has interacted with a dense, narrow stream of particles shed by this comet which caused Ursid meteors to appear in the dozens per hour. Similar incidents occurred in 1945 and 1986, and counts reached 30 per hour in 2000 and again during 2006 through 2008.
