Ursid meteor shower 2020: when it is, how to see it
The Ursid meteor shower 2020 takes place from
17–26 December, with peak nights occurring on
21/22 and
The Ursids’ peak occurs at
09:00 UT on 22 December and the Moon will be close to first quarter at this time, setting early to leave much of the remaining long, dark night for Ursid watching. A chart showing the region of the sky you’ll need to watch to see an Ursid meteor. Note the Ursid radiant. More on this below. Credit: Pete Lawrence
How many Ursid meteors will be visible?
While the Geminid meteor shower grabs the December limelight, the Ursid shower tends to take a back seat.
Christmas night astronomy: what to see in the night sky on 25 December
December 21, 2020 at 11:30 am
Aside from the turbulent year that was 2020, many people have discovered the joy of looking up at the night sky for the first time this year, and will have asked for a telescope this Christmas. Every year as the Sun sets at the end of Christmas Day, turkey-stuffed astronomy newcomers unpack their first telescope and head outside.
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Yet as new telescope owners stand there beneath the winter sky, their wacky Christmas jumpers hidden beneath thick coats and mighty Orion staring down at them, many may be disappointed – especially if the expectation was to see breathtaking views through their new telescope as good as the Hubble and Voyager images printed on its box.
357m vaccine doses, £65bn in loans, nine industry guides and more: Sarah Munby reflects on a busy year for BEIS
2020 was a year unlike any other, with the coronavirus pandemic upending the work of government and changing how we live our daily lives. Senior figures from across the civil service tell us how the unprecedented 12 months affected them, and look ahead to 2021
BEIS permanent secretary Sarah Munby
What are you proudest of your department or agency achieving in 2020?
Like many bits of government BEIS has had a busy year. And much of our activity was things we would never have imagined doing if you had asked us in January: we’ve secured 357m vaccine doses for the UK, supported business with over £65bn in loans (across the Bounce Back Loans and other various loan guarantee schemes), written nine industry guides to safer working, and worked with Local Authorities to give 999,735 grants and counting to small businesses. That’s before you get to our wor
DVLA chief Julie Lennard on keeping NHS staff on the roads, and why digital has been so important to their Covid response
2020 was a year unlike any other, with the coronavirus pandemic upending the work of government and changing how we live our daily lives. Senior figures from across the civil service tell us how the unprecedented 12 months affected them, and look ahead to 2021
DVLA chief executive Julie Lennard
What are you proudest of your department or agency achieving in 2020?
I am incredibly proud of the resilience, commitment and professionalism shown by every single one of our 6,000 staff. From our operational staff remaining on site at the height of the first lockdown to make sure we helped key workers to stay on the roads, including lorry drivers and NHS staff, to those staff right across the Agency who adapted so well to working from home in such difficult circumstances. During this time, we’ve rapidly launched new digital services of our own and worked with other