Ursids meteor shower 2026
Peak night, up to 10 meteors an hour under a dark sky. A bright Moon (94%) washes out faint meteors; only the brightest will show.
When
What it is
The Ursids are dust from 8P/Tuttle. Each year the Earth crosses this stream and the grains burn up 80–100 km above us at 33 km/s. The meteors seem to fly out of Ursa Minor, so the shower is named after it.
How to see it
Go somewhere dark any time of the night (best around 2 am), lie back and look at the whole sky, not at the radiant. Give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt and don’t look at your phone. A bright Moon (94%) washes out faint meteors; only the brightest will show.
Check the clouds for that night
See it for your city
See also
Geminids meteor shower 2026
Peak night, up to 150 meteors an hour under a dark sky. The Moon is almost out of the way — a good year.
December solstice 2026
The longest night of the year in the north — the most hours of darkness for stargazing.
Supermoon: Cold Moon, 24 December 2026
The full Moon is near perigee (356,738 km), so it looks up to 7% bigger and 15% brighter than average.
Ursids meteor shower 2027
Peak night, up to 10 meteors an hour under a dark sky. The Moon (32%) gets in the way for part of the night — watch after it sets.