A quiet shower at the solstice
Ursids
About this shower
The Ursids close the meteor year, peaking near the winter solstice from a radiant in Ursa Minor close to the north celestial pole. Dust shed by comet 8P/Tuttle feeds a modest five-to-ten-per-hour display, but the shower has a history of brief outbursts when Earth passes through a fresh dust trail, and some of those nights have far exceeded the usual rates. From Tucson the radiant never climbs high, which keeps the visible window short. The Ursids seen from Arizona are usually sparse in number and rather faint. Examples are shown including those captured on a peak night. Arizona often has better weather at this time of year than much of the United States and because the weather is often so poor most places this is a shower not often seen.
Field tip
The radiant sits low in the northern sky from Arizona, so aim midway up the northern sky and let the camera run through the solstice peak — patience is the whole technique.
