Each year in mid-December, just before Christmas, the Ursids Meteor Shower makes its appearance in the heavens. A weaker and less productive display than the Geminids a week earlier, the Ursids reliably offers 5-10 faint but long-lasting meteors each hour emanating from the area around the Big Dipper in the northern sky. These showers can be experienced by anyone in the Northern Hemisphere with dark skies and a clear view of heaven. The best time for viewing is just before dawn.