Ursid Meteor Shower 2025: Peak Night Watch Tips and Sky Guide
Ursid Meteor Shower: What to Know and How to Watch the Peak
The Ursid meteor shower, one of winter's hidden gems, peaks tonight between December 21 and 22, 2025, coinciding with the winter solstice for optimal dark skies. Originating from comet 8P/Tuttle, this shower typically delivers 5-10 meteors per hour under ideal conditions, with rare bursts reaching 25 from the constellation Ursa Minor.[1][3]
Prime Viewing Tips for Maximum Streaks
Head to a dark, rural site in the Northern Hemisphere after midnight, when Earth plows through the debris stream. A slim 3% crescent moon won't interfere, enhancing visibility.[1][3] Face northeast toward the radiant at azimuth 14° and declination +76°; meteors radiate in all directions. Lie back comfortably, let eyes adapt for 20 minutes, and scan the sky patiently—no binoculars needed.[1][2]
Why Ursids Shine Amid Winter Wonders
Often overshadowed by Geminids, Ursids offer serene displays pre-Christmas, active December 17-26. Check local forecasts via timeanddate.com for precise radiant positions rising higher by dawn. Bundle up, grab hot cocoa, and witness cosmic fireworks lighting the solstice night.[1][2][3]
About the Organizations Mentioned
timeanddate.com
Timeanddate.com is a Norway‑based digital company that provides authoritative time, time‑zone, calendar, and astronomical data for consumers and businesses worldwide. The site and APIs offer world clocks, time‑zone converters, meeting planners, date calculators, sunrise/sunset and moon‑phase tools, countdowns/timers, holiday databases, and event/astronomy information used by millions daily and by enterprises in technology, logistics, travel, and media[5][6]. Founded from a student project by Steffen Thorsen in the mid‑1990s, the service launched on May 24, 1998 and gradually expanded from simple clocks and calendars into a broad suite of time‑related products; Time and Date AS was formally incorporated in 2005 as the organisation behind timeanddate.com[1][2]. Thorsen remains founder, owner and CEO, and the company has grown from one developer to a multidisciplinary team of programmers, designers, researchers and journalists based near Stavanger, Norway[1][5][7]. Key achievements include becoming one of the world’s leading time and time‑zone resources with reported daily users in the one‑to‑two‑million range and over five million app downloads; creation of robust developer APIs and mobile apps; and recognition as an authoritative source cited by major outlets and used by global businesses[2][3][5][6]. The site also maintains a large holiday database (thousands of entries) and detailed astronomical and historical data used for planning and media reporting[5][6]. Current status: Time and Date AS operates as a private limited company (registered in Norway) with a compact, specialized team delivering both free web tools and paid API services to commercial clients, emphasizing data accuracy, continuous updates, and accessibility[5][6]. Notable aspects are its niche focus on time as a data product, long continuity since 1998 in a
