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Bundle up and step outside: a stunning meteor shower is coinciding with the first official day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Ursids are an annual meteor shower that are active from Dec. 17 to Dec. 26, and expected to peak during late night on Dec. 21 into Dec. 22 early morning.
The shower’s peak this year falls a few days after the full moon appears the night of Dec. 18, so unfortunately, the residual brightness from the moon might wash out the starry display.
But have no fear, galaxy gazers! There’s another reason to get excited on Tuesday, Dec. 21 because it marks 2021’sDecember solstice– the shortest day and longest night of the year. While that’s true for the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere experiences the exact opposite – the longest day and shortest night of the year.
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Although the December solstice means the start of winter, look on the bright side! It also means the “return of more sunlight – so the days will only get brighter from here,” according to theFarmer’s Almanac.
No matter where you are on the planet, the solstice is a time to celebrate seasonal change – and what better way to celebrate than trying to catch a glimpse of stars shooting across the sky.
Despite the moon’s extra bright appearance that night, viewing an Ursid meteor is still possible according to past experiences,EarthSky.orgreports.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Ursid meteor shower and the solstice, combined!
How to watch the Ursid meteor shower?
Since the Ursids are expected to peak in the Northern Hemisphere late evening on Dec. 21 into the early morning on Dec. 22, you’re going to want to dress appropriately for the winter temperatures. Bring a sleeping bag, and set yourself up far away from city lights. Around 1:00 a.m. local time, you should start to see the shooting stars!
Where to look for the Ursid meteor shower in the sky?
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Meteor showers shoot from a radiant point, or the celestial point in the sky in which they appear to originate. The Ursids radiate from a point within the constellation Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the configuration the showers are named after.
This constellation is fairly easy to spot because the Big and Little Dipper are asterisms, or small patterns, within the starry structure. If you know how to spot those familiar patterns – direct your attention to Kochab, a star within the Little Dipper. The meteors frequent that space in the sky.
How many meteors will there be during the Ursid meteor shower?
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NASAdescribes the Ursids as “a low-key meteor shower,” compared to previous showers like theLeonidsthat peaked on Nov. 16-17 this year. Those showers have the potential to produce meteor storms with up to 1,000 meteors per hour, like in 1966!
In contrast, the Ursids are expected to shoot as many as five to 10 meteors per hour. According toEarthSky.org, rare instances can produce bursts of 100 meteors per hour, keeping stargazers hopeful. (So bundle up and cross your fingers!)
What does the solstice mean?
While Dec. 21 marks the first day of winter for the upper half of the equator, it’s the start of summer for the lower half.
The word solstice itself derives from the Latin root sol (meaning sun) and sistere (meaning to stop). This reflects the sun’s short pause in the sky before reversing in the opposite direction.
Scientifically speaking, “the sun’s rays gradually shift southward from the equator until the sun reaches its most southerly point in the sky over Earth at the Tropic of Capricorn, a mapmaker’s line that parallels the Equator at 23.5 degrees south latitude,” according toThe Wall Street Journal.
source: people.com
