Quadrantid meteor shower “Fireball” in Tres Piedras, New Mexico, January 2020
Mike Lewinsky CC BY 2.0 DEED
The first major meteor shower of the year will begin tonight and tomorrow, peaking in the early morning hours of January 4th, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). This meteor shower, known as the “Subungid meteor shower,” is one of the most active meteor showers of the year.
At its peak, up to 110 meteors can be observed per hour, and the phenomenon is often associated with particularly bright meteors called bolides.
This year’s waxing moon means you might be able to see as many as 110 meteors due to the moonlight being in the way, but it’s still worth seeing if the skies are clear.
When is the Quadrant Meteor Shower?
The current Shibungid meteor shower began on December 28th, but was visible to some people on January 3rd, and peaked just before 1 a.m. Japan time on January 4th, making this phenomenon a small phenomenon. It is expected to last 6 hours.
Where can I observe the Squirrel meteor shower?
The Quadriids meteor shower is best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. If the sky is clear, try to go outside after midnight to avoid light pollution.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the peak of the Chrysalis meteor shower is seen after sunrise, so the chances of seeing it are low. But lucky viewers might be able to spot some photos in the hours before sunrise on January 4th.
How to observe the Shibungid meteor shower
You don’t need any special equipment to view the meteor shower. Be sure to pack something to keep yourself warm, lie down, look at the sky, and wait for the meteors to appear.
Like all meteor showers, the Cybungid meteor shower is named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to come from the sky. In this case, it is an old constellation called “Quadrans Muralis” in his 1800s, when the shower was discovered. Now, this part of the sky is part of the constellation Boes.
You don’t need to be able to spot Boes to see the meteor shower, but if you want to know where it is, you can find it at its brightest star called Arcturus. First, find the Plow or Big Dipper and look at the row of stars that form its handle.
Continuing along the arc of this curve, you will reach a bright star visible near the eastern horizon around midnight. Remember this technique by thinking of “Ark to Arcturus”.
What is a meteor shower?
Meteors are flashes of light that move quickly across the night sky, sometimes with a trail behind them. They are produced when pieces of dust and debris enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up.
Although this happens all the time, meteor showers are the peak in the number of visible meteors. They occur when Earth’s orbit brings it into large chunks of debris left behind by comets and asteroids. In particular, the origin of the quadrant basin is 2003 Asteroid called EH1.
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