December 21, 2025
Major Meteor Showers and Eclipses in 2025
Next Meteor Shower
Ursids
Next period of activity: December 16th, 2025 to December 26th, 2025
The Ursids are often neglected due to the fact it peaks just before Christmas and the rates are much less than the Geminds, which peaks just a week before the Ursids. Observers will normally see 5-10 Ursids per hour during the late morning hours on the date of maximum activity. There have been occasional outbursts when rates have exceeded 25 per hour. These outbursts appear unrelated to the perihelion dates of comet 8P/Tuttle. This shower is strictly a northern hemisphere event as the radiant fails to clear the horizon or does so simultaneously with the start of morning twilight as seen from the southern tropics.In 2024, a half-illuminated moon will be present in the morning sky and will obscure the fainter meteors.
Shower details - Radiant: 14:38 +75.4掳 - ZHR: 10 - Velocity: 20.5 miles/sec (medium - 33.1km/sec) - Parent Object: 8P/Tuttle
Next Peak - The Ursids will next peak on the Dec 21-22, 2025 night. On this night, the moon will be 3% full.
Quadrantids
Next period of activity: December 26th, 2025 to January 16th, 2026
The Quadrantids have the potential to be the strongest shower of the year but usually fall short due to the short length of maximum activity (6 hours) and the poor weather experienced during early January. The average hourly rates one can expect under dark skies is 25. These meteors usually lack persistent trains but often produce bright fireballs. Due to the high northerly declination (celestial latitude) these meteors are not well seen from the southern hemisphere. Predictions for 2026 show a peak near 00:36 UT on January 4th. This timing favors Asia..Activity will be severely compromised in 2026 as a full moon occurs on January 3rd. The bright moonlight will obscure all but the brightest meteors therefore the best hourly rates are expected to be less than 10.
Shower details - Radiant: 15:20 +49.7掳 - ZHR: 120 - Velocity: 25 miles/sec (medium - 40.4km/sec) - Parent Object: 2003 EH (Asteroid)
Next Peak - The Quadrantids will next peak on the Jan 3-4, 2026 night. On this night, the moon will be 100% full.
Next Eclipse
September 21, 2025 PartialLunar Eclipse
Regions seeing, at least, some parts of the eclipse: Australia, Antarctica. (Not likely to be seen in Fulton County.)