The Ursid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Here's how to best watch the shooting stars.

The last meteor shower of 2024 is expected to peak overnight on Dec. 21 — just in time for the winter holidays.

The Ursid meteor shower is active around the same time every year toward the end of December and lasts for about a week. While they are not as bright as the Geminid meteor shower, which is considered one of the best showers of the year and occurred last weekend, the Ursids can sometimes produce unpredictably high numbers of meteors per hour.

What exactly is a meteor shower?

Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through the dust and ice debris or tail of a comet, according to NASA. Arguably, the most famous and visible ones are the Perseids, which happen every August.

The Ursids meteor shower stems from debris left by Comet8P/Tuttle. According to EarthSky, the Ursids are a relatively new meteor shower, especially when compared to the Perseids, which have reportedly been happening annually for centuries.

What can I expect to see?

The Ursids appear to be brighter than most meteors — aka shooting stars — so you might be able to spot the few that occur. While the exact number of outbursts isn’t clear, the American Meteor Society anticipates there will be around five to 10 Ursids per hour around the peak.

What’s the best way to view the meteor shower?

Even though the Ursids happen for about a week, the best chance of seeing the outbursts is by watching at night on Saturday, Dec. 21 or early morning on Dec. 22.

The shower is also exclusively visible to people who live in the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere. For those who live above the equator, you just need to find a dark area without uncontrollable lighting in order to better see the bursts of light from the Ursids. Although they are possible to see even with moonlighting nearby, the American Meteor Society anticipates the moon will be 59% full on Dec. 21 night.