As every year, 2023 can begin by looking at the sky to enjoy the maximum activity of the rain of the quadrantidswhich, together with the Geminids and the Perseids, are part of the select group of the most intense meteor showers of the year, with an activity that usually touches 100 meteors per hour.
This year, its peak of activity is expected at 3:40 UTC (4:40 Spanish peninsular time) of January 4so this Wednesday morning, just before dawn, will be the best time to observe them.
The Quadrantid shower is one of the most intense of the year, with an activity that usually borders on 100 meteors per hour. Its peak of activity will be this January 4 at 4:40 a.m. (Spanish peninsular time)
The quadrantids always show their maximum activity the first week of January. Although we must remember that it will be necessary to wait well into the morning for the radiant (the point from which these “shooting stars” appear to be born) is high enough in the sky that they can be easily seen.
The place to locate is the constellation of the Boyerowhich is located near the Big Dipper (for this reason, this meteor shower can hardly be seen from the southern hemisphere).
Name for a missing constellation
Normally, meteor showers are named by their radiant (perseids by the constellation Perseus, Geminids in Gemini…). However, the Quadrantids are named following the missing constellation The Mural Quadrantpointed out by the astronomer Joseph Lalande in 1795, and which, although it is no longer recognized by scientists, continues to give its name to this meteor shower.
To enjoy the show, it is advisable to look towards the constellation of the Boyero, located near the Big Dipper, and get away from light pollution
On average, we are expected to see a meteor every four minutessome of them very bright if we are in a place without light pollution and with clear horizons.
During the early hours of the morning, the almost full Moon (it will be on January 7) will make it difficult to see of the weaker meteors, although when the shower reaches its maximum activity it will already have set and it will not be a problem.
“Shooting stars” of comets and asteroids
The so-called “shooting stars” are actually small dust particles of different sizes, some smaller than grains of sand, which are left by comets throughout their orbits around the Sun. The resulting stream of particles (called meteoroids), due to the “thawing” produced by solar heat, is dispersed by the orbit of the comet and is traversed every year by the Earth in its orbit around the Sun.
The progenitor of the Quadrantids meteor shower might be asteroid 2003 EH1
During this encounter, dust particles disintegrate as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, creating the so-called light strokes which receive the scientific name of meteors. This is true for most meteor showers, but not for the Quadrantids and Geminids.
And it is that there is no comet that coincides with the trajectory of the cloud of “debris”. The progenitors of these meteor showers are asteroids: 3200 Phaeton in the case of the Geminids and some astronomers think it is 2003 EH1 for the quadrantids.
Live from the Canary Islands and Extremadura
Within the dissemination activities of the European project EELabsthe channel sky-live.tv will broadcast this rain of stars live from the Teide Observatory (Tenerife) and the International Center for Sports Innovation in the Natural Environment “El Anillo” in Extremadura.
“In the last three years the average activity of the Quadrantids has remained above 80 meteors per hour. The forecasts for this January 4 are similar. We cannot miss a rain with such a high activity”, he comments. Miquel Serra-Ricartcoordinator of the EELabs project.
The appointment will be this Wednesday morning at 06:00 UT (local time in the Canary Islands, 07:00 Spanish peninsular time). Although, in any case, for those who wish to enjoy this spectacle in the open air, starting at 02:00 UT, the constellation of the Boyero will be on the horizon, so some of these brilliant meteors will begin to be seen.
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