A finder chart portraying the location of the radiant of the Quadrantids meteor shower, from Astronomy Now magazine. Credit: Astronomy Now/Greg Smye-Rumsby (CC BY 4.0).
Northern hemisphere stargazers can eagerly anticipate what could be 2022s finest meteor shower on 3-4 January. Observers delighting in dark skies might see 50 or more meteors an hour that night, as the Quadrantids shower reaches its peak.
Meteors are the outcome of little particles going into the Earths atmosphere at high speed, generally around 40 km per second for the Quadrantids. The pieces of debris warm up due to friction with the air, and are normally damaged in under a second at altitudes above 80 km. The superheated air around the meteor glows quickly, and is visible from the ground as a streak of light referred to as a shooting star.
Throughout the year in between 6 and ten random erratic meteors show up each hour. Throughout a shower, the Earth goes through a cloud of particles left behind by asteroids and comets, therefore much more meteors are seen entering the environment. The Quadrantids are associated with the near-Earth asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1, which might be an extinct comet seen by Chinese astronomers in 1490.
The superheated air around the meteor glows briefly, and is noticeable from the ground as a streak of light known as a shooting star.
Throughout a shower, the Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by asteroids and comets, and so lots of more meteors are seen entering the atmosphere. To offset this, more meteors tend to be seen when the glowing is higher in the sky, and likewise in the hours before dawn, so UK observers could see a decent display throughout the night.
Meteor showers appear to originate from a glowing point, in this case called for the defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis, and now sited in the constellation Bootes, near the popular Plough asterism. The diagram above, thanks to Astronomy Now, depicts the glowing of the shower.
This year the shower peak is predicted to be at 20:40 GMT on January 3. This is quite sharply specified, and the variety of meteors drops off by 50% two hours later on. To offset this, more meteors tend to be seen when the radiant is greater in the sky, and likewise in the hours prior to dawn, so UK observers could see a decent display throughout the night.
This time the Moon will be just past New, so will its light will not interfere with the view and there will be a genuine advantage from viewing the meteor shower under dark skies away from the lights of towns and cities.
Unlike lots of astronomical events, meteor showers are easy to view and no special devices is needed. A meteor shower is best observed with the naked eye, and a reclining chair, a hot drink and a warm blanket make seeing a lot more comfortable on a cold January night.