[ad_1]
The Quadrantid meteor shower is at its peak, and sky watchers across North America have a good chance of seeing the show end tonight.
This annual meteor shower typically peaks between January 3 and January 4 of each year. This year has so far provided less than ideal views for sky watchers, given that the moon was 81% full overnight on January 3. Quadrantids are fairly faint meteors, so moonlight can easily wash them out. However, the moon is waning, so January 4th may allow better meteor detection, at a slower rate than during the January 3rd peak.
To see the quadrantids, find a dark spot with minimal light pollution. Beat the moonrise or wait until after the moonset if you can. Dress warmly and let your eyes adjust to the dark for 15 or 20 minutes. Meteors will appear to emanate from the constellation Boötes. To find this constellation, first find the Big Dipper in the northern sky. Then follow the handle of the Big Dipper to the bright star Arcturus, which anchors the bottom of Boötes. The constellation looks a bit like a warped kite with a short tail. You can tell when this constellation (the “radiant” of the meteor shower) will be above the horizon by entering your position at Time and date meteor shower page.
At its peak, which only lasts a few hours, the Quadrantid shower can produce around 120 meteors per hour. Outside of rush hour, viewers can still see around 25 meteors per hour.
The quadrantids are a shower of space dust and rock from asteroid 2003 EH1, which is likely an extinct comet that has lost its long, icy tail. Meteors take their name from the name of a now-extinct constellation, Quadrans Muralis, a four-sided figure imagined by astronomer Jérôme Lalande in 1795. In 1922, when the International Astronomical Union drew up a list of constellations internationally recognized, they abandoned Lalande’s invention in favor of Boötes, which had a longer history (it was recognized in ancient Greece and ancient Babylon). The name of the meteor shower associated with Quadrans Muralis has not changed, although the Quadrantids are sometimes known as Bootids.
After the Quadrantids, the next best chance of spotting meteors will come with the Lyrids, which occurs in mid-April. This year’s best viewing will probably be in the before dawn on April 22, according to EarthSky magazine.
Originally posted on Live Science.
[ad_2]
Source link