New Year's Weekend Plays Host to First Meteor Shower of 2021

 

January 6, 2021



Nature’s fireworks lit up the night sky with the first major meteor shower of 2021 between the hours of 2 a.m. and dawn on January 3. Anyone who had the right viewing conditions was treated to the Quadrantid meteor shower, which is known for its bright fireballs.

Unfortunately, the bright waning gibbous moon served as a viewing obstacle during the peak hours of this year’s celestial event. The American Meteor Society reported that “the best strategy to see the most activity was to face the northeast quadrant of the sky and center your view about half-way up.” Because the moon’s brightness essentially overshadowed the intensity of the meteor shower, star gazers were only able to catch sight of about ten or so blue streaks during a single hour.

According to NASA Science, the Quadrantids, which peak during early-January every year, are considered to be one of the best annual meteor showers. Unlike most meteor showers, which originate from comets, the Quadrantids derive from an asteroid: asteroid 2003 EH1. Under perfect conditions, the asteroid produces between 60 and 200 meteors per hour as they travel at 25.5 miles per second. The spectacular fireballs appear visible for longer than other meteors. These larger explosions of light and color can persist because fireballs form from larger material particles.

“Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids. When these objects come around the sun, the dust they emit gradually spreads into a dusty trail around their orbits. Every year the Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky,” NASA Science explains.

Although meteor showers typically have a two-day peak, which makes catching sight of them much more possible, the Quadrantids’ peak lasts for only a few hours. The short duration of the peak is due to the shower’s thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle.

First spotted in 1825, the Quadrantids—also known as the Bootids—are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere every year when they are active from December 28 - January 12.

Joe Rao, who serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium, called 2021 “a poor Quad year.” According to Rao, “In one out of every three years, bright moonlight spoils the view, and this is one of those years.”

 
 

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