The skies of the Arab world are preparing to witness a remarkable astronomical event starting at midnight tomorrow and continuing until the early hours of Tuesday, December 23, 2025, as the Ursid meteor shower reaches its annual peak. This astronomical event coincides with the winter solstice, making it the grand finale of astronomical events in 2025, amidst anticipation from astronomy enthusiasts and photographers eager to observe this phenomenon, which boasts ideal viewing conditions this year.
Details of the astronomical phenomenon and its timing
Engineer Majed Abu Zahra, head of the Jeddah Astronomical Society, explained that the Ursid meteor shower is active annually from December 17 to 25, but its peak will be on Monday night and Tuesday morning. This phenomenon occurs when the Earth, in its orbit around the sun, passes through a cloud of dusty debris scattered along the orbit of the periodic comet 8P/Tuttle. As these dust particles enter the Earth's atmosphere at very high speeds, they burn up due to intense friction at altitudes ranging from 80 to 120 kilometers, leaving behind flashes and rapid streaks of light that adorn the dark sky.
Historical background and the mother culprit
The Ursid meteor shower is a relatively recent discovery in the history of astronomy compared to other well-known showers like the Perseids and Geminids. It was identified as a regular, periodic shower about a century ago, specifically at the beginning of the 20th century, when astronomers observed that the meteors appearing in late December all originate from a single radiant point in the constellation Ursa Minor. The source of these meteors is Comet 8P/Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790 and then rediscovered and its orbit precisely determined by the astronomer Horace Tuttle in 1858. This comet orbits the Sun in an elliptical path that takes approximately 13.6 years to complete, leaving behind a trail of particles that intersects Earth's orbit.
Monitoring conditions and radiation location
What makes observing the Ursid meteor shower this year unique is the absence of moonlight. The moon will be in its crescent phase at the beginning of the month and will set early in the evening, leaving the sky completely dark during the late peak hours—a prerequisite for viewing the faint meteors. These meteors appear to originate from a radiant point in the constellation Ursa Minor, near Polaris, the North Star. This constellation never sets for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, meaning the meteors can be observed throughout the night, with the best viewing times being at dawn when the radiant point is at its highest point in the sky.
Scientific significance and impact of the event
Although the Ursid meteor shower is considered a "minor" shower, typically producing between 5 and 10 meteors per hour, it holds significant scientific importance for astronomers. Observing it helps in studying the distribution of space debris and the evolution of periodic comets. Its coincidence with the winter solstice (the astronomical beginning of winter) adds a special dimension, as the Arab region experiences the longest night of the year on this day, providing an exceptionally long window for observing and enjoying the beauty of the winter sky, adorned with the year's brightest stars and the twinkling planet Jupiter.
