The Final Meteor Shower of 2025: A Guide to the Ursids
The year 2025 is coming to a close, but there's one last celestial event to look forward to: the Ursids meteor shower. This final meteor shower of the year will light up the night sky from December 17 to 26, with its peak on the early morning of December 22. Here's everything you need to know to catch this spectacular display.
When and Where to Watch
The Ursids are active around December 17 to December 26, with a peak in the early morning hours of December 22. This is the ninth and final major meteor shower of 2025. The best viewing conditions will be in the US, where the moon will set around 6 pm on the 21st, allowing for clear skies and minimal moonlight interference.
What to Expect
The Ursids typically produce about 10 meteors per hour, but the viewing conditions will be perfect for sky watching. You'll be able to see meteors throughout the entire night during the shower's peak, especially in northern latitudes where the radiant, the Little Dipper (or Ursa Minor), will be above the horizon all night.
How to Watch
You don't need any special equipment to see a meteor shower. In fact, using devices like binoculars or telescopes can actually prevent you from seeing meteors, as they travel too fast to be seen through the lenses. All you need is your eyes, a dark sky with little to no moonlight, and a location away from excess light pollution.
Allow your eyes about half an hour to adjust to the darkness. If you need to use a flashlight, use one with a red light to preserve your night vision. Each meteor shower is named after its radiant, or the constellation that the shower appears to come from. You don't need to look directly at the radiant to see meteors; shooting stars will be visible throughout the entire sky once the radiant has risen.
Next Year's Meteor Showers
Here's a sneak peek at some of the meteor showers to look out for in 2026:
- Quadrantids (January): Peak in the first week of January, known for sharp peaks and many fireball meteors.
- Lyrids (April): Active in the second half of April, with a peak lasting around three nights.
- Eta Aquariids (May): Active from mid-April to the end of May, with elevated activity lasting about a week.
- Southern Delta Aquariids (July–August): Active from mid-July to mid- to late August, with peak activity lasting about a week.
- Perseids (July–August): Active from mid-July to mid- to late August, with a peak roughly two weeks after the Southern Delta Aquariids.
- Orionids (September–November): Active from late September to late November, with a peak in the second half of October.
- Leonids (November–December): Active for most of November, with a sharp peak around the middle of the month.
- Geminids (December): Active from early to mid-December, with a sharp peak around December 14, known for being the most spectacular and colorful of the year.
