Streaks of light will illuminate the sky, heralding the first celestial spectacle of the year. The Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to peak on Friday, January 3, during the early hours before dawn, providing a spectacular show with at least 30 to 60 meteors per hour. This year’s Quadrantids won’t be disturbed by the Moon’s light, ensuring a better viewing experience for one of the most popular meteor showers in our skies. To fully enjoy the Quadrantids this year, the meteor shower is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, although it will still be visible across the entire sky. The meteor shower should be enjoyed from a poorly lit area, preferably away from city lights. Be prepared for a long night as it starts to peak around 2 a.m. and lasts until dawn. Last year, sky watchers faced some Moon interference, but this year, the meteor shower will coincide with a waxing crescent Moon, which will not interfere with the view of the streaking lights. The Quadrantids are an annual shower that was first seen in 1825. It is active from late December to mid-January. The meteor shower has a narrow peak window that lasts for a few hours each year due to its thin stream of particles and the angle at which Earth crosses the stream. Nevertheless, the meteor shower puts on a great show during those few hours. Quadrantids are known for bright fireball meteors that produce larger explosions of light and color originating from larger particles of material. Although most meteor showers come from comets, the Quadrantids come from an asteroid. The space rock, known as Asteroid 2003 EH1, orbits the Sun every five and a half years. It is a relatively small asteroid, measuring around two miles (three kilometers) across, and may be a dead comet or a rock comet (an asteroid with an orbit similar to that of a comet). The Quadrantids’ radiant, or the point in the sky from which the meteor shower seems to come from, is an outdated constellation called the Quadrans Muralis. French astronomer Jerome Lalande created the constellation in 1795, but it was removed from the list of recognized constellations in 1922 by the International Astronomical Union. The first meteor shower of the year marks the beginning of a series of astronomical events that can be enjoyed by sky enthusiasts, including the four planets Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter being visible during the first couple of hours after sunset throughout the month of January.
