Ursids in Nairobi

The Ursids meteor shower peaks from Nairobi around Dec 22, with up to 10 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. In 2026 a half moon will wash out fainter meteors, and from Nairobi the radiant in Ursa Minor climbs to 10° above the north horizon around 06:25. Local best viewing window: 05:40–06:25 EAT on the peak night, about 0.8 hours of twilight after sunset. Scaled to that altitude, the 10/hour headline figure works out to roughly 2 meteors an hour from Nairobi under a genuinely dark sky. At this latitude the sky never gets fully dark that night — the Sun only reaches 65.3° below the horizon — so only the brighter meteors will show. Tonight: limited visibility; a site a short drive away may do better.