The Year’s Strongest And Strangest Meteor Shower Peaks This Week. Here’s When To See ‘Fireballs’
Are you ready for 2023’s first display of “shooting stars?”
This week sees the short, sharp peak of one of the most prolific but least observed meteor showers of the calendar year—the Quadrantids.
Sadly a very bright moon waxing towards its full phase later this week will make it harder to see the fainter Quadrantids, but its bright “fireballs”—something this shower is known for—will still shine through.
What is the Quadrantid meteor shower?
Active from December 26 through January 16 each year, but peaking on January 3/4, the Quadrantids are caused by an asteroid called 2003 EH, which orbits the Sun every five years.
It’s one of the strongest meteor showers of the year though it’s only visible from the northern hemisphere. In theory, it includes about 125 “shooting stars” an hour at its peak, but practically speaking about 25 are expected to be visible.
Since they take place in January the biggest hurdles to actually seeing Quadrantids is cold and cloudy weather.
When is the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower?
According to the American Meteor Society, the rather narrow peak of the Quadrantids will occur on January 4, 2023, close to 3:40 Universal Time (UTC). It’s reckoned to last no more than three hours each side of that time.
Best time to see the Quadrantids meteor shower
The time to be outside looking up in North America is 10:40 p.m. EST and 7:40 p.m. PST (and for about three hours after) on Tuesday, January 3. In the UK the best time will be 3:40 a.m. on Wednesday, January 4.
Where to look for the Quadrantids’ ‘shooting stars’
You can look anywhere in the sky, but be sure to look away from the bright moon. All meteor showers have a radiant point—a place in the night sky where the dust and debris is striking Earth’s atmosphere. For the Quadrantids it’s the constellation on Bootes in the northern sky. However, it’s also close to something that’s very easy for anyone to find—the bright stars Alkaid at the end of the Big Dipper’s handle.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
