Quadrantid Meteor Shower

3rd December 2013

By Tim Trott

The Quadrantid Meteor Shower have the potential to be the strongest shower of the year but are usually marred by poor January weather and the short length of maximum activity of 6 hours.

The Quadrantid meteor shower is the first meteor shower each year. The shower comes each year in early January and favors the Northern Hemisphere as its radiant is far North in the constellation of Bootes. The peak occurs on the night of the 3rd of January, which will hopefully be Moon free.

The Quadrantid Meteor Shower is named named after the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, now part of Bootes. Under dark skies, you can expect average hourly rates of 25, frequently showing as bright fireballs.

The radiant point of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower is inside the constellation Bootes. It lies between the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the quadrilateral of stars marking the head of the constellation Draco. This meteor shower is best seen in the Northern hemisphere, but you can see Quadrantids down to -51° latitude.

Quadrantid Meteor Shower Radient

About the Author

Tim Trott

Tim Trott is a creative photographer, traveller, astronomer and software engineer with a passion for self-growth and a desire for personal challenge.

Further Reading

Ursid Meteor Shower

The Ursids are often neglected due to the fact it peaks just before Christmas and the rates are much less than the Geminds, which peaks just a week before the Ursids. Observers will normally see 5-10 Ursids per hour during the late morning hours on the date of maximum activity.

Leonid Meteor Shower

The Leonids are famous because their meteor showers, or storms, can be among the most spectacular. The outbursts of meteor activity are best seen when their parent object, comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, is near perihelion (closest approach to the sun).

Orionid Meteor Shower

The Orionid Meteor Shower is a medium strength shower that can reach high strength activity. In a normal year the Orionids produce 20-25 shower members at maximum. In exceptional years, such as 2006-2009, the peak rates were on par with the Perseids (50-75 per hour).

Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseids meteor shower is the most popular meteor shower as they peak on warm August nights as seen from the northern hemisphere. The Perseids are active from July 13 to August 26, reaching a strong maximum on August 11 - 13, depending on the year. Normal rates seen from rural locations range from 50-75 meteors per hour at maximum.

Quadrantid Meteor Shower

Quadrantid Meteor Shower Radient

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