The beginning of astronomical winter starts on Dec. 21 at 10:27 p.m. EST. Check out the peak of the Ursid meteor shower and catch shooting stars raining down on the night of the solstice.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:05 Cold days are ahead with the solstice, the changing of the seasons taking place on December 21st at 1027 p.m. Eastern Time.
00:14 The December solstice marks the beginning of astronomical winter for the northern hemisphere and astronomical summer for the southern hemisphere.
00:22 During a winter solstice, the Earth is tilted away from the sun, which means the northern hemisphere receives less sunlight.
00:29 We have the shortest days but also the longest nights, so if you love stargazing, this is the time of year to do it because you have plenty of time to enjoy the night sky.
00:38 There is something to watch in the night sky on the night of the solstice, the Ursa Meteor Shower Peaks.
00:44 These shooting stars appear to originate between the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, also known as the Big Dipper and Little Dipper.
00:53 It is the last meteor shower of 2023 and produces about 10 meteors per hour.
00:58 What better way to wrap up the end of the year than by catching some shooting stars?
01:02 You can check the latest cloud forecast by visiting AccuWeather.com or by downloading the AccuWeather app.
01:08 Reporting for AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish.