Tonight may be your last chance to see a shooting star in 2025 – and you won’t want to miss it.

The Ursid meteor shower will reach its dazzling peak this evening, sending bright fireballs flashing through the sky.

Arriving just after the Winter Solstice, this is the perfect opportunity for budding stargazers to witness the celestial action without staying up all night.

And, with the waxing crescent moon only at five per cent of its maximum illumination, there couldn’t be a better chance to see the year’s final meteor shower.

The Ursid meteor shower will continue until December 26, but it will be at its most active tonight.

It is not typically the year’s most impressive meteor shower, with around 10 shooting stars every hour.

However, the Ursids can still offer patient sky-gazers a few surprises, with rates of 25 or more meteors in good years.

Here’s everything you need to know to see the final meteor shower of the year.

Tonight will be the last chance to see shooting stars in 2025 as the Ursid Meteor shower reaches its peak. Pictured: Ursid meteors seen over Essex

Tonight will be the last chance to see shooting stars in 2025 as the Ursid Meteor shower reaches its peak. Pictured: Ursid meteors seen over Essex 

What is the Ursid meteor shower

Although it looks like meteors fall to Earth, they are actually the product of Earth sweeping up debris.

As these chunks of rock and dust hit our atmosphere at speeds up to 43 miles per second (70 km/s), friction generates enough heat to vaporise them in a flash of light.

As Earth passes through big clouds of debris left by passing comets, the number of meteors we see dramatically increases in a period known as a meteor shower.

In the case of the Ursids, the meteors are caused by the debris from the comet 8P/Tuttle, a 2.8-mile-wide peanut-shaped chunk of ice and rock which orbits the sun every 13.6 years.

Jessica Lee, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the Daily Mail: ‘The Earth travels around the Sun in a fixed path each year.

‘The comet 8P/Tuttle also travels around the Sun in a fixed path, and as it comes in close to the Sun, it heats up, shedding more material and leaving a trail of debris in its wake.’

Since this cloud of debris is always in the same place relative to Earth, the shower always occurs at the same time of year.

At their peak, viewers with good conditions can expect to see as many as 10 shooting stars per hour, which may come in groups of bright fireballs like these meteors seen on Christmas Day over Essex

At their peak, viewers with good conditions can expect to see as many as 10 shooting stars per hour, which may come in groups of bright fireballs like these meteors seen on Christmas Day over Essex

What are meteors?

A meteor is not technically a type of space rock, but rather the bright flash of light produced by falling space debris.

When a small space rock, known as a meteoroid, hits our atmosphere, friction and air pressure create an enormous amount of heat.

Eventually, this heat becomes so powerful that the rock is vaporised in a flash of glowing light. 

When the number of meteors dramatically increases for a short period, scientists call this a meteor shower.  

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How to see the Ursid meteor shower

In addition to always appearing at the same time, meteor showers also always emerge from the same point in the sky, known as their radiant.

Ms Lee says: ‘They appear to originate from a point in the sky in the constellation of Ursa Minor, which is in the northern part of the sky all night long.

‘This is the constellation our north star, Polaris, is part of.’

However, the shooting stars can actually appear anywhere in the sky.

That means it is better to find a location with a wide view of the sky and keep your eyes focused on a point somewhat to the side of the radiant.

‘Travelling somewhere dark would help, with a clear view of lots of the sky,’ adds Ms Lee.

‘You’ll also need to let your eyes adjust to the dark, so don’t look at your phone or any other bright light source. The longer you wait, the better your chances, so make sure you wrap up warm.’

The Ursids will appear to emerge from the constellation Ursa Minor, but could be seen anywhere in the sky. For the best view, look to the North around midnight or in the pre-dawn hours when Ursa Minor (depicted here) is highest in the sky

The Ursids will appear to emerge from the constellation Ursa Minor, but could be seen anywhere in the sky. For the best view, look to the North around midnight or in the pre-dawn hours when Ursa Minor (depicted here) is highest in the sky 

Upcoming meteor showers

Ursids: 22 December, 2025 

Quadrantids: 4 January, 2026

Lyrids: 22 April, 2026

Eta Aquariids: 6 May, 2026

Alpha Capricornids: 30 July, 2026  

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Dr Shyam Balaji, astrophysics expert at King’s College London, adds: ‘The best time to view the Ursids is during the predawn hours.

‘Since the shower occurs around the winter solstice, you’ll have long nights and plenty of dark skies to enhance visibility.’

Although they are not always the year’s best shower, the Ursids can produce unexpected peaks that go well beyond their normal limits.

Dr Balaji says: ‘The Ursids are generally a sparse meteor shower, producing about 5 to 10 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. 

‘However, it has had notable outbursts in the past, such as in 1945 and 1986, when up to 100 meteors per hour were observed. This unpredictability keeps skywatchers interested.’

One of the best parts about watching a meteor shower is that you don’t need any special equipment at all to enjoy it.

In fact, any telescopes or binoculars will only restrict your field of view and make it harder to see the meteors.

Unfortunately, the Met Office weather forecast for tonight does not look exceptionally promising.

Unfortunately the weather tonight will not be ideal for stargazing The Met Office forecasts some rainfall over parts of the country this evening

Unfortunately, the weather tonight will not be ideal for stargazing. The Met Office forecasts cloud cover (left) and some rainfall (right) around midnight 

The next opportunity to see shooting stars will be on the night of January 4, when the Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak. Pictured: The Quadrantid Meteors over Northumberland

The next opportunity to see shooting stars will be on the night of January 4, when the Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak. Pictured: The Quadrantid Meteors over Northumberland 

Fairly heavy cloud cover is forecast over the entire UK until December 24.

However, conditions should remain dry so you may be able to catch a break in the clouds for some late-night star watching.

If you do miss the Ursid meteor shower tonight, the next best opportunity will be the Quadrantids, which reach their peak on January 4.

The Quadrantids are one of the year’s best meteor showers, famous for their intense burst of bright fireballs.

However, the exceptionally short peak lasts only a few hours, making this shower the most challenging to observe.

After that, you will need to wait three months for the Lyrids to reach their peak on April 22.

These will be followed by the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which peaks on May 6 with around 40 meteors per hour.

Explained: The difference between an asteroid, meteorite and other space rocks

An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt.

A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system.

A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up.

This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere.

If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite.

Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets.

For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower.

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