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NEW YORK — The last meteor shower of 2023 is scheduled to send meteors streaking across the sky, just in time for the holiday season.
The Urus constellation will reach its peak from Thursday night into early Friday morning, the newspaper said. American Meteor Society. According to the association, night owls who can tolerate the cold can see about 5 to 10 meteors per hour.
This year, the Comatid meteor shower will reach its peak on the same night as the winter solstice, the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. On the evening of the summer solstice, the sun reaches its southernmost position at 8:27 PM PST. According to EarthSky.
Weather conditions permitting, the best time to view meteors is between 3 a.m. local time on Friday, when the moon has set, and before dawn, said Robert Lunsford, the association’s fireball reporting coordinator. That’s what it means. According to , the moon will be 74% full on peak nights. American Meteor Societyand its bright light will prevent viewing the meteor in the early evening hours, Lunsford said.
The meteor shower will be visible to people looking at skies in the northern hemisphere, but for people in Alaska or northern Canada, the more northern skies you look, the better, as the bright constellations are higher in the sky earlier in the night. Lunsford said.
Unlike the Geminid meteor shower, where meteors are frequently seen in the days before and after the peak, the Ursa Minorids have a relatively short period of maximum activity. Lunsford said the only time you’ll see five to 10 meteors per hour is during the peak night and early morning hours. For several days before and after its peak, the Ursa Minorids will produce about one meteor per hour, he said. Urshid showers begin in mid-December and remain active until December 24th.
“These showers produced 25 to 30 storms an hour at times. We don’t expect that. … But you never know,” Lunsford said. For those who missed the Geminid meteor shower, he added, “take a break here and watch some meteor activity before the year is over.”
No special equipment is required to view the meteor shower. NASA Not recommended Meteors can be seen all over the sky and require the use of a telescope or binoculars due to their narrow field of view.
Mapping of the Uruid meteor shower
The Ursa Minor meteor shower is a rare meteor shower that occurs every year. The radiant point, the point where the meteor appears to originate, is not a constellation in the zodiac. Instead, Ursa Minor appears to be derived from the constellation Ursa Minor, also known as the Big Dipper.
By recording the time, size, and other characteristics of meteor observations, researchers gather more information about regions of space in Earth’s orbit, such as the density of debris clouds and the times at which planets pass through them. Yes, Lunsford said. He said.
“If we get enough people to do that[recording the times of meteor sightings]we can map out the cosmic dust that’s out there, find out what’s producing them, where they are, and It helps explain what to expect next year,” Lunsford said.
Because the Urids meteor shower is not observed as frequently as powerful meteor showers like the Geminids, researchers may find data on the Ursa Minoris more valuable, Lunsford said. he said. Even casual sky watchers can contribute to data collection by reporting meteor sightings to the American Meteor Society. through the website.
Although the Ursa Minoris is the last annual astronomical phenomenon of the year, the first meteor shower in 2024 is not far away, and the Ursa Minoris will reach its peak in 2024. Morning of January 4th.