The first few months of each year have a relative scarcity of meteor showers, so during the first week, quadruple objects often draw outside diehard observers. They delivered the show some skywatchers had hoped for on Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
While December is full of opportunities to catch abundant Geminids and Ursids meteors, the quadruple meteor shower is the only major shower in the first quarter of the year, peaking briefly on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning this week.
As the Twins And UrsidsThe Quadrantids are often among the most powerful showers of the year, but these meteors don’t get as much buzz as the northern summer Perseids in August that hit during many skygazers’ summer vacation time. Additionally, the window of opportunity to see the quadrantids is quite narrow, with intense peak activity of just six hours this year, according to American Meteorite Society.
Other showers may have peaks lasting a day or two, with less but still activity extending into the days before and after the actual peak.
The stellar meteor shower of 2021 shines in shots from around the world
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To capture the Quadrantids, there are two factors to consider: what time the rain peaks at any given location and how high up a quarter of the night sky Quadrantid meteors appear to have originated at that time.
Predicting the exact timing of the meteor shower’s peak activity makes no guarantees, but the target range for best viewing times this year was between 3:40 and 6:40 UTC on January 4 (from 7pm :40 to 22:40 ) PM EST. Pacific Tuesday). However, the region of the sky from which the Quadrantid radiates outward is in the constellation Bootes the Shepherd, and this radiance was greatest in the sky between about 2:00 and 6:00 a.m. local time.
Where these two northern hemisphere windows overlap, you have the best spots on the planet to observe the dials. This week it appeared to be nowhere in or near the North Atlantic.
Forecasting required about 25 quadrants of an hour under ideal conditions, including many rapid-fire stars and a few fireballs. According to some forecasts, a lucky quadrantid explosion would have been possible, producing up to 120 meteors per hour.
by Wednesday evening International Radio Meteorite Monitoring Project It’s already reporting detections of up to 120 meteors an hour, though it’s unlikely anyone will be able to see them all with the naked eye, thanks in large part to the Moon, which was 92% full last night.
What you actually see when a quadruple meteor crosses the sky is an atom or piece of pebble asteroid 2003 EH1, Which some astronomers believe may be an extinct comet or a new type of object sometimes called a “rock comet.” Over the centuries, EH1 has left a trail of debris in its path, and our planet passes through this debris flow every January.
If you miss it, mark your calendar for the next big meteor shower, which unfortunately won’t happen until the Lyrids become active in late April.
