Images adapted from Stellarium
The Quadrantids meteor shower ranges from 28 December to 12 January and occurs every year. The peak of the shower is on the evening of 3 January and morning of 4 January and only lasts for a few hours. It is among the most active meteor showers, and has been known to produce over 100 meteors per hour on a clear night. The shower produces blue streaks of light with fine trains.
Where and when do I look?
The meteors appear to come from the constellation Boötes. So why on earth is it called the Quadrantids and not the Boötids? It is because the name comes from the former constellation Quadrans Muralis which is now part of Boötes. Boötes is easy to find because the most prominent star is Arcturus a bright orange coloured star, in fact the fourth brightest star in the night sky. You can find it from the 7 stars marking the plough in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). The plough also looks like a saucepan. The three stars that mark the pan handle have a nice arc shape. Follow this arc and “arc to the star Arcturus.” See the image below. Boötes also looks like a big kite with Arcturus at the bottom of the kite. The Quadrantid meteors appear to radiate from the area at the top of the kite in between Boötes and the constellation Draco. See the image below. This is called the radiant. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. This point is the radiant.
The very top of the kite shape of Boötes is marked by the star Nekkar or ? Boötis and appears in our sky all year round. It is circumpolar even though the whole constellation is not circumpolar. Watch the video to find out more about the circumpolar constellations. Because the Quadrantid meteor shower is above the star Nekkar it is in the night sky all evening so you should be able to spot the meteors at any time after the sky becomes dark enough. Sunset on the 3 January is just after 4pm in the South of England. The Moon is a waxing crescent phase in 2022, only 1-2 days old so will not interfere with the meteor shower at all.
The radiant of the shower is very low in the north-north western sky at sunset but rises higher and higher as the evening progresses. By 3.30am the radiant is to the right of Polaris and is at its highest in the pre-dawn sky and the meteors lost to daylight.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. It will be easier to spot the radiant when you can see the whole of the constellation of Boötes but this won’t be until about midnight in the south of England and that is after the Moon has risen so try and locate it before then. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Boötes you are looking at debris particles associated with the Quadrantids meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Quadrantid meteors come from debris left behind by the asteroid 2003 EH1 OR is it comet C/1490 Y1? Or are these two objects one and the same? The jury is still out on that one and it is still unsure. It was discovered in 2003 and orbits the Sun every 5.52 years.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Lyrids meteor shower can be seen between 13-29 April. The peak of the shower when the intensity of meteors coming through our atmosphere is usually on the evening of 22 and early morning of 23 April. It is quite a sparse shower with about 18 meteors per hour and they sometimes produce occasional fireballs (another name for very bright meteors). In reality of course you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in your locality. A bright waning gibbous Moon will rise at 03:26 on the morning of the 23 April so you will get a chance to see the meteors better before this time.
Where and when do I look?
The reason why the meteor shower is called the Lyrids is because the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from (the radiant) is in the constellation Lyra. This constellation will be rising above the eastern horizon at about 8.30pm on the 22nd April but it will be very low on the horizon to begin with. The very bright star Vega is in the constellation Lyra and this is how you will be able to locate where the meteors will be coming from. See the image taken from Stellarium.org to find out where to look on the 22/23 April. Even though Lyra rises just after sunset and you may spot a meteor or two at that time, the best viewing time will be between midnight and dawn on the 23rd. The diagram shows the area that the meteors appear to come from and is called the radiant. It is to the right of Vega and on the border of the constellation Hercules. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Lyra by locating the bright star Vega. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light traced back to the constellation Lyra you are looking at debris particles associated with the Lyrid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Lyrid meteors come from debris left behind by comet C/1861 G1 or Thatcher if they collide with Earth's atmosphere. Comet Thatcher takes about 415 years to orbit the sun once. It is expected to return in about 2283! Comet Thatcher was discovered on April 5, 1861 by A.E. Thatcher and came closest to the Sun (perihelion) on June 3 1861.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower ranges from 18 April to 27 May and occurs every year. The peak of the shower is on the evening of 5 and morning of 6 May. It is a relatively sparse shower especially in the Northern hemisphere and the meteors will appear low on the horizon. They are very fast and travel at about 66 km/s. They often leave glowing trains which can last for several seconds or more which is always a bonus when looking for meteors.
This shower can produce up to about 30 meteors per hour at its peak but only about 10 per hour in the Northern hemisphere. Also in reality you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in the area you are looking. It is a waxing crescent Moon in 2022, 5-6 days old. It is relatively bright but sets at 01:39 in the morning of the 6 May so after this time it will be much darker and easier to see the meteors. This favours the Eta Aquarids which are best seen in the pre-dawn sky. The Sun will rise at about 05.30 so there is plenty of time in a dark site with no natural light pollution from the Moon.
Where and when do I look?
The meteors appear to come from the constellation Aquarius (see image to locate this constellation). In the Northern Hemisphere, they can more often be seen as "earthgrazers." Earthgrazers are long meteors that appear to skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon. Aquarius is low on the eastern horizon pretty close to Jupiter and Saturn. You can locate it from the square of Pegasus. The diagram shows the area that the meteors appear to come from and is called the radiant. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
Unfortunately Aquarius doesn’t rise in the east on the 6 May until just before 03:00 so you don’t have a great deal of time to spot the meteors before the Moon and then the Sun rises. Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Aquarius and look in that direction. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Aquarius you are looking at debris particles associated with the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Eta Aquarid meteors come from debris left behind by the comet 1P/Halley. Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds a layer of ice and rock into space. The dust grains eventually become the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October if they collide with Earth's atmosphere.
Comet Halley takes about 76 years to orbit the sun once. The last time comet Halley was seen by casual observers was in 1986. Comet Halley will not enter the inner solar system again until 2061. Comet Halley was discovered in 1705 by Edmund Halley. Edmund Halley predicted the orbit of the comet through past observations of comets, suggesting that these sightings were in fact all the same comet. Halley is perhaps the most famous comet—it has been sighted for millennia. This comet is even featured in the Bayeux tapestry, which chronicles the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Perseid meteor shower can be seen between 16 July to 23 August and it occurs every year. The peak of the shower when the intensity of meteors coming through our atmosphere is at its highest, is actually in the evening of the 12th and early morning of the 13th August. It is one of the more prolific showers and you may see up to 60-100 meteors per hour. They are pretty fast moving and can leave persistent trains. In reality of course you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in your locality. The phase of the Moon is a very unfavourable full Moon which rises at sunset and sets at sunrise so with really spoil the show in 2022.
Where and when do I look?
The reason why the meteor shower is called the Perseids is because the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from (the radiant) is in the constellation Perseus (see image to locate Perses). From the UK Perseus is almost circumpolar with only the bottom part of the constellation dipping below the horizon so can be seen all through the night and all through the year. In fact the radiant is circumpolar. However, the best time to look for the meteors will be between midnight and dawn as the radiant rises higher and higher in the sky. The diagram shows the area that the meteors appear to come from (the radiant). If you find the more prominent constellation of Cassiopeia which looks like a giant W use these stars to locate the Perseid radiant. Starting at the top left of the W this is star 1 then star 2 then star 3 etc. Draw an imaginary line from star 3 to star 2 and keep going a little and that is the area close to the radiant. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Cassiopeia to find Perseus. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light traced back to the constellation Perseus you are looking at debris particles associated with the Perseid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Perseid meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the outskirts of a cloud of debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. The dust and bits of rock left behind are called meteoroids. Comet Swift-Tuttle takes 133 years to orbit the sun once. It was last seen in 1992 and is expected to return in 2126 when it is predicted to be a bright naked eye object: if you can predict what comets will do! Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered on July 16, 1862 by Lewis Swift and independently by Horace Parnell Tuttle on July 19 1862 hence the double-barrelled name.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Draconid meteor shower ranges from 5 – 9 October and occurs every year. The peak of the shower is on the evening of 8 and morning of 9 October. It is usually a very sparse shower and is known to be a ‘sleeper’ with only 5-10 meteors per hour. However, it can be unpredictable and in 1933 and 1946 stargazers were treated to thousands of meteors in just one hour. In reality of course you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in your locality. This year it is a very unfavourable full Moon (well just after full Moon) so it will spoil the specatacle in 2022.
Where and when do I look?
The meteors appear to come from the constellation Draco the Dragon (see image to locate this constellation). Draco is a circumpolar constellation and can be seen throughout the evening and throughout the year in the Northern Hemisphere down to a latitude of about 40 degrees north. The diagram shows the area that the meteors appear to come from and is called the radiant. It is in the head of the dragon. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
Because from Great Britain you can see Draco all evening you should look for the meteors after sunset (about 7pm) and when it gets dark enough. The earlier you start watching the higher in the sky is the radiant. As the evening progresses, the radiant heads towards the horizon making it more difficult to see the shooting stars. Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Draco’s head and look in that direction. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Draco you are looking at debris particles associated with the Draconid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Draconid meteors come from debris left behind by the comet Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. Each time that this comet returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds a layer of ice and rock into space. The dust grains eventually become the Draconid meteor shower if they collide with Earth's atmosphere.
Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner takes about 6.6 years to orbit the sun once. The last time it made a close approach to the Sun was in 2018. It was discovered by Michel Giacobini, who observed it in the constellation of Aquarius on December 20, 1900. It was spotted again two orbits later by Ernst Zinner, on October 23, 1913. Hence the double barrelled name.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Orionid meteor shower ranges from 10 October to 6 November and occurs every year. The peak of the shower is in the morning of 21 October but watch out for them throughout the range and in the evening of the 20 October. It is a relatively sparse shower with about 25 meteors per hour and they are fast, travelling at 66 km/s! They often leave persistent streaks of light and they sometimes produce fireballs (another name for very bright meteors). In reality of course you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in your locality. In 2022 it will be a waning crescent Moon which will rise at 02:21 on the morning of the 21 October giving you plenty of dark hours to spot the meteors before moonrise.
Where and when do I look?
The meteors appear to come from the constellation Orion the Hunter (see image to locate this constellation). The diagram shows the area that the meteors appear to come from and is called the radiant. It is just to the left of Orion’s right hand where he is grasping the club. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
The radiant of the Orionid meteor shower will start to appear over the eastern horizon at about 22:30 on the evening of the 20 October. It will not reach its highest point in the sky until about 05:00 the following morning and they are therefore best seen in a dark sky just before dawn starts to break.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Orion’s right arm and look in that direction. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Orion you are looking at debris particles associated with the Orionid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Orionid meteors come from debris left behind by the comet 1P/Halley. Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds a layer of ice and rock into space. The dust grains eventually become the Orionids in October and the Eta Aquarids in May if they collide with Earth's atmosphere. Comet Halley takes about 76 years to orbit the sun once. The last time comet Halley was seen by casual observers was in 1986. Comet Halley will not enter the inner solar system again until 2061. Comet Halley was discovered in 1705 by Edmund Halley. Edmund Halley predicted the orbit of the comet through past observations of comets, suggesting that these sightings were in fact all the same comet. Halley is perhaps the most famous comet—it has been sighted for millennia. This comet is even featured in the Bayeux tapestry, which chronicles the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Taurid meteor shower is a shower of two halves! The Southern Taurids can be seen between 10 September and 20 November. It peaks on 10/11 October and is best seen in the southern hemisphere. The Northern Taurids can be seen between 20 October and 10 December. It peaks on 12 November and is best seen in the northern hemisphere. As we are in the Northern Hemisphere, this article will concentrate on the Northern Taurids.
The peak of the shower is in the evening of 12 November when the intensity of meteors coming through our atmosphere is at its highest. The Taurids are not very prolific with an hourly rate of about 5 or less even at their peak. The stream of particles causing the shower is very spread out and quite dispersed. This is why we can see them over a long period of time and unfortunately why there are not that many of them. The meteors are very slow moving, travelling at about 17 miles per second (27 km/s) or 65,000 miles per hour (104,607 km per hour).
In reality of course you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in your locality. The phase of the Moon for the peak of the Taurids in 2022 is a bright waning gibbous which will rise at 18:30 and be with us all night so not very favourable for spotting a spare meteor shower. However, the Moon is not right next door to the point from which the meteors are appearing so if you can obscure it a bit then you will improve your chances of seeing a meteor or two.
Where and when do I look?
The reason why the meteor shower is called the Taurids is because the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from (the radiant) is in the constellation Taurus (see image to locate Taurus and the radiant of the Taurids). Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. This point is called the radiant.
While the radiant point is above the horizon all night on the 12 November, the best time to spot them is around midnight when the radiant is at its highest point in the sky (about 60 degrees up from the horizon). At this time, the UK is facing the direction of the incoming meteors. This maximises the number of meteors coming into our atmosphere vertically downwards. When meteors enter the atmosphere vertically we see short trails of light close to the radiant point. As the Earth is rotating towards and away from this point there will be fewer meteors which will tend to enter the atmosphere at an oblique angle. When meteors enter at an angle they produce long-lived trails that may seem to cross a wider area of the sky before disintegrating.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes at least 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. To find Taurus you need to look for the more prominent constellation of Orion. Find the three stars in a line that mark the belt of Orion. Starting at the bottom left star you need to draw an imaginary line which will take you to the red eye of Taurus the bull. The reddy/orange star is called Aldebaran. Above Aldebaran is the Pleiades Cluster of stars also known as the Seven Sisters. The Northern Taurids radiant is close to Pleiades. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Taurus you are looking at debris particles associated with the Taurid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Taurid meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by asteroid 2004 TG10. This asteroid is thought to be a fragment from comet Encke which was originally thought to be the source of the shower. Asteroid 2004 TG10 was discovered on 8 October 2004 and has an orbital period of 3.34 years. It is an eccentric asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group.
The Leonid meteor shower can be seen between 5-29 November and it occurs every year. The peak of the shower, when the intensity of meteors coming through our atmosphere is at its highest, is actually in the evening/morning of the 17/18 November (between midnight and dawn). There are about 15 meteors per hour at its peak. However, every 33 years or so, the Leonid shower becomes a storm when hundreds of meteors can be seen. In fact in 1833 an estimated 100,000 meteors per hour were reported making it extremely spectacular. The 1999-2001 storms produced about 3000 per hour. The bright meteors are fast moving, up to about 70km/s and can leave fine trains behind them.
In reality of course you probably won’t see the predicted peak number every year because of light pollution and other factors such as a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) which will dictate how many are actually visible to you in your locality. The phase of the Moon for the peak of the Leonids in 2022 is a waning cresecent rising just after midnight on the 18 November so just as you would be trying to spot the meteors. It will be relatively bright and will be present throughout the morning so may wash out some of the dimmer meteors.
Where and when do I look?
The reason why the meteor shower is called the Leonids is because the point in the sky where the meteors appear to come from (the radiant) is in the constellation Leo (see image to locate Leo). The best time to look for the meteors will be between midnight and dawn as the radiant rises higher and higher in the sky. The diagram shows the area that the meteors appear to come from (the radiant). If you find the more prominent asterism in the constellation Ursa Major called the plough (or big dipper or saucepan), look directly underneath the part that looks like the saucepan and you should be able to see the backwards way question mark of Leo. This asterism represents the head of the lion and the radiant is in this area. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes at least 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find the plough to find Leo. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Leo you are looking at debris particles associated with the Leonid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Leonid meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through a cloud of debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle. The dust and bits of rock left behind are called meteoroids. Comet Tempel-Tuttle takes 33 years to orbit the sun once. It was last seen in 1998. Comet Tempel-Tuttle was independently discovered by Wilhelm Tempel on December 19, 1865, and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on January 6, 1866.
The Geminid meteor shower ranges from 4-17 December and occurs every year. The peak of the shower is on the evening of 13 December and morning of 14 December. It is one of the most reliable meteor showers of the year and often has very bright, moderately fast meteors and some may have long persistent trails. The added and unusual bonus is that the meteors are multi-coloured. They are mainly white but you should see yellow and some red, blue and green too in the streaks of light zooming across the night sky. The colours are a result of traces of metals in the meteors such as sodium and calcium.
This shower can produce up to 100 meteors per hour at its peak but in reality you probably won’t see this many every year. Also light pollution and other factors such as light from a bright Moon (depending on the phase of the Moon at the peak of the shower) will dictate how many are actually visible to you in the area you are looking. In 2022 it is a waning gibbous Moon so pretty bright. It will rise at 20:45 on the 13 December and be present throughout the rest of the night and into the morning. This will wash out all but the brightest of the meteors.
Where and when do I look?
The meteors appear to come from the constellation Gemini (see image to locate this constellation). The 2 brightest stars helping you to locate Gemini are Castor and Pollux. These depict the heads of the twins in mythology. The meteors appear to come from the area close to Castor. This is called the radiant. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. The point is the radiant.
Gemini rises in the east on the 13 December at about 7.30pm. It is easier to see the meteors as the constellation rises higher in the sky so it is better to wait until later in the evening. To see them at their best you should wait until the constellation is at its highest around 2am but that’s a bit late so still look out for them before midnight.
It is going to be a waxing gibbous Moon so there will be some natural light pollution that may spoil the spectacle. Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Gemini and look in that direction. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Gemini you are looking at debris particles associated with the Geminid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Geminid meteors come from debris left behind by the asteroid 3200 Phaeton. Even though the meteor shower was first recorded in 1862 the asteroid was only discovered by a satellite in 1983. It is unusual to get a meteor shower from an asteroid, they usually come from the debris left behind by comets. In fact the Geminids and the Quadrantids are the only meteor showers that don’t originate from a comet. Even though 3200 Phaeton has been officially classified as a B-type asteroid it has also been called a “rock comet.” Scientists have suggested that it could be a “dead comet,” but there is still quite a lot of debate about what it actually is.
3200 Phaeton has an elliptical orbit and only takes 524 days to orbit the Sun. It gets closer to the Sun than the planet Mercury.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
The Ursid meteor shower ranges from 16-25 December and occurs every year. The peak of the shower is on the evening of 21 December and morning of 22 December. It is only a sparse shower with about 5 meteors per hour.
Where and when do I look?
The meteors appear to come from the constellation Ursa Minor. Ursa Minor (the Little Bear) is easy to find because the most prominent star is Polaris (the North Star). It is the only prominent star that appears to stay in the same place throughout the evening. You can find it from the 7 stars marking the plough in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). The plough also looks like a saucepan. The two stars at the edge of the pan furthest from the handle are called Merak and Dubhe. Merak is the lower star and Dubhe is above it. Trace an imaginary line from Merak, through Dubhe and the next brightest star you come across is Polaris. See the image to help you find out where to look in the north. The Ursid meteors appear to radiate from the area near the star Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris) which is the second brightest star in the constellation (see the image). This is called the radiant. Think of driving through a snow storm on a road, even though snow is falling all around, as you drive through the snow the snowflakes appear to come from a point further along the road and the snowflakes radiate out from this point. This point is the radiant.
Ursa Minor is one of the constellations that appears in our sky all year round. It is a circumpolar constellation. Watch the video to find out more about the circumpolar constellations. Because it is in the night sky all evening you should be able to spot the meteors at any time after the sky becomes dark enough. It coincides with the Winter Solstice and the longest night so plenty of hours of darkness to see meteors. Sunset on the 21 December is just before 4pm in the South of England. It is a thin waning cresecent, 1-2 days before new Moon so there will be no natural light pollution to spoil the show. The radiant of the shower is at its lowest point in the sky at about 7pm with Kochab being underneath Polaris. By 2.30am the radiant is to the right of Polaris and by about 7.30am (just after sunrise in the south of England) on the 22 December the radiant will be at its highest and the meteors lost to daylight.
Choose the darkest site you can get to and be patient, allow your eyes to get used to the dark. It takes 20 minutes to fully adapt to the dark so it’s best not to use a white light torch – use a red one if you do need to use a torch. Find Ursa Minor and look in that direction. Don’t just look at the radiant look in the wider area in the dark bits around the radiant. You may see other sporadic meteors in other parts of the night sky but if you can trace the streaks of light back to the constellation Ursa Minor you are looking at debris particles associated with the Ursid meteor shower. These particles could be as small as a grain of sand! You may want to stay out for a while so wrap up warmly and you may want to take a chair with you. All you need is your eyes! If you use binoculars your view is too restricted and you will miss the beautiful streaks of light.
So where are these meteors coming from?
The Ursid meteors come from debris left behind by the comet 8P/Tuttle. It is rather a dim comet discovered in 1790, but the Ursids meteor shower was only recorded in England in 1900. It orbits the Sun every 13.6 years.
If you want to find out more about why we see the streaks of light often called ‘shooting stars’ then have a look at the meteor shower section in the astronomy glossary.
