NEW YORK — The last major meteor shower of the year, known as Ursidswill soon reach its peak, leaving streaks of light across the night and morning skies. Compared to other meteor showersit's more subdued, but experts say it's still worth a look.
Meteor showers happen when space rocks crash into Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds and burn up to form fiery tails—the end of a “shooting star.” Occasional meteors are visible from Earth on any clear night, but more predictable meteor showers occur annually when the Earth passes through streams of cosmic remnants of comets or asteroids.
Ursid Peak will be visible from Sunday evening to Monday morning until December 26 from the Northern Hemisphere. Skywatchers typically see five to 10 meteors per hour at altitude, and there is a chance of bursts of up to 25 meteors per hour, according to astronomers. American Meteor Society.
How active the shower will appear from Earth depends on the amount of debris and the brightness of the Moon, which can outshine the glowing meteors. The Ursids contain less space debris than other showers such as the Geminids, but the Moon's narrow crescent will not be much of an obstacle when they peak.
You don't need any special equipment to see a meteor shower. To see the Ursids, which hail from Comet 8P/Tuttle, huddle together and get away from the city lights.
“The darker your sky, the heavier the rain will be,” said astronomer Peter Brown of Western University in Canada.
Meteors can be seen throughout the sky, but the streaks all appear to originate from a central point near the constellation for which the shower is named. In this case, it is the constellation Ursa Minor, also known as the Little Dipper.
When it gets dark, avoid bright lights from cell phones as it will make it harder for your eyes to adjust.
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