2021 looks set to be an exciting year for stargazers, with the first major celestial event this weekend, as the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks from January 2 to January 3.
The Quadrantids – also known as the Bootids – were first seen in 1825 and take place every year between December 28 and January 12.
Now known to be from an asteroid called 1003 EH1, “the meteors appear to be coming from the modern constellation Bootes,” explains NASA. “While the constellation may no longer be recognized, it was considered a constellation long enough to give the meteor shower its name.”
The American Meteor Society reports that – along with the Perseids and Geminids we reported on in 2020 – the Quadrantids could be the strongest rain of the season.
How to see the quadrantides
Watch late on a Saturday night, or before sunrise on Sunday, and you can see between 60 and 200 meteors per hour as they travel at a speed of 25.5 miles per second. You can also see the fireballs that the Quarantids are known for. They are spectacularly bright and appear longer than other meteors.
However, you have to get your timing right: the peak of this meteor shower only lasts about six hours.
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According to the International Meteor Organization, the period of maximum activity is expected to occur around 14:30 UTC on January 3. This means that for much of the states it will be in the hours before sunrise on Sunday that the Quadrantids are best viewed.
With a nearly full, albeit waning, moon lighting up the sky this weekend, it is true that it will not be as easy to catch fiery meteors towering over our cities, mountains, and fields as in other years.
Still, this first weekend of the New Year is well worth going out – and looking up.
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