Ursids
The least active shower on this list, but with exceptional geometry for Poland: the radiant lies close to the celestial pole and stays high throughout the December night. This is not a rich shower - a ZHR around ten means single meteors - but its geometry is as good as it gets.
Meteors enter the atmosphere at 33 km/s, which makes them relatively slow. The parent body is 8P/Tuttle.
Catalogue figures
- Active period
- 17 December - 26 December
- Nominal peak
- 22 December
- Radiant
- RA 14.5 h, dec 76°
- Entry velocity
- 33 km/s
- Parent body
- 8P/Tuttle
- Catalogue ZHR
- 10
ZHR is a catalogue reference value: the number of meteors an observer would see under a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead. It is not a forecast for any given year, nor a number you will count - real activity varies from year to year, and every obstacle (the Moon, a low radiant, light pollution) cuts it several times over.
Observing conditions 2026-2031
Computed for Warszawa as the reference point. "Radiant above 20°" counts the hours when astronomical night (Sun more than 18° below the horizon) and a high enough radiant overlap. The last column subtracts the time the Moon is above the horizon.
Select a peak date to open that night on the event map in the app.
The table scrolls sideways - it has seven columns.
| Peak | Moon | Radiant highest | Astronomical night | Radiant above 20° | Moon-free | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 December 2026 | 94% | 62.1° · 05:30 | 12 h | 12 h | 0 h | Moon interferes |
| 22 December 2027 | 32% | 62° · 05:30 | 12 h | 12 h | 8.3 h | partly good |
| 22 December 2028 | 33% | 62.2° · 05:30 | 12 h | 12 h | 8 h | partly good |
| 22 December 2029 | 99% | 62.1° · 05:30 | 12 h | 12 h | 0 h | Moon interferes |
| 22 December 2030 | 11% | 62.1° · 05:30 | 12 h | 12 h | 12 h | good |
| 22 December 2031 | 61% | 62° · 05:30 | 12 h | 12 h | 4.7 h | partly good |
Plan the night
Check in Lunar Frame how high the radiant sits at a given hour from your own spot, and when the Moon rises and sets that night.
Open Lunar Frame →Where these numbers come from
Active period, nominal peak, radiant, velocity and ZHR come from the Lunar Frame shower catalogue. Moon illumination, the length of astronomical night and radiant altitude are computed with astronomy-engine for Warszawa; across Poland these differ by fractions of a degree, so one reference point describes the whole country.