But there is still one more meteor shower to consider before we close the book on 2020: the December Ursid meteor shower, which usually occurs during the overnight hours of Dec. 21-22. 

The Ursids are so named because they appear to fan out from the vicinity of the bright orange star Kochab, in the constellation of Ursa Minor, the little bear. Kochab is the brighter of the two outer stars in the bowl of the Little Dipper (the other being Pherkad), that seem to march in a circle like sentries around Polaris, the North Star. But while the Geminids are at the top of most meteor watchers "must see" list, the Ursids are usually at the bottom and are usually given scant attention save for the most assiduous of meteor observers.

The fact that Kochab is positioned so near to the north pole of the sky means that it nearly never sets for most viewers in the Northern Hemisphere. And since the Ursids seem to fan out from this particular region of the sky, means that you can look for these faint, medium-speed meteors all through the night if you care to.  And this looks to be a reasonably good year to watch for them, since the first quarter moon will set around midnight on their peak night, assuring skies will be dark for the second half of the night. 

These meteors are best seen during the last dark hour before dawn, when the radiant lies highest above the horizon in a dark sky. On the morning of maximum, hourly rates of between 5-10 Ursids may be seen. Plunging through the Earth's atmosphere 22 miles (35 km) per second, the Ursids produce mostly medium speed meteors. Very little activity will be seen away from the night of maximum activity.