Stargazers will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the Quadrantids between now and 12 January 2025. However, the peak time to get the best look will be on 3 January 2025, either first thing in the morning before dawn or in the evening after sunset.
Observers enjoying dark skies could see 50 or more meteors an hour that night, as the Quadrantids shower reaches its peak.
The only caveat is that it has a "really sharp peak over a few hours", according to the Royal Astronomical Society's deputy director Dr Robert Massey, which means the rates will be a bit lower than when the shower is at its most active at 15:00 GMT on 3 January.
In a video explaining what the Quadrantids are and how best to see them, he said: "They have a pretty strong intensity if you happen to be in the right place at the right time.
"If you're on the west coast of the US, or in the Pacific region, you could see maybe 70 or 80 an hour. If you're in the UK you're going to see somewhat fewer than that. But it's still a strong shower."
He added: "The great advantage this year is that the Moon isn't interfering with it, so you haven't got a Full Moon in the sky - it's a very thin crescent - [which] means the light will not be a big problem."
The best thing to do, Dr Massey said, is to get as far away from light pollution as possible.
"They won't be the brightest meteors on the whole, but [the Quadrantids] do include a fair number of fireballs," he added.
"A fireball is a dramatic sounding thing but what it really means is a really bright meteor. The Quadrantids is a meteor shower which produces that kind of event.
"So for that reason alone, if you have the time to look out and the weather is good, then do take a look because it's a perfect New Year treat."
Unlike many astronomical events, meteor showers are easy to watch and no special equipment is needed.
A meteor shower is best observed with the naked eye, and a reclining chair, a warm blanket and a hot drink make viewing much more comfortable on a cold January night.
Just don't try using binoculars or a telescope. They will actually make it harder because you'll only be seeing a tiny part of the sky, Dr Massey said.
Meteors are the result of small particles entering the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, typically around 40 km per second for the Quadrantids. The pieces of debris heat up due to friction with the air, and are usually destroyed in under a second at altitudes above 80 km. The superheated air around the meteor glows briefly, and is visible from the ground as a streak of light known as a 'shooting star'.
Throughout the year between six and ten random 'sporadic' meteors are visible each hour. During a shower, the Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by comets and asteroids, and so many more meteors are seen entering the atmosphere.
What is unusual about the Quadrantids, Dr Massey said, is that they are associated with the near-Earth asteroid (196256) 2003 EH1, which may be an extinct comet seen by Chinese astronomers in 1490.
He added: "We appear to be running into a trail of debris associated with it, so the thinking is that might actually be an extinct comet - so no longer anything generating a comet, doesn't look like a comet these days, just looks like a dot on even the largest telescopes.
"But more than 500 years ago there was a comet seen by the Chinese and it may be connected with that. It may be that this comet was once active [but] has left a lot of debris in orbit around the solar system which the Earth runs into once a year."
Meteor showers appear to emanate from a radiant point, in this case named for the defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis, and now sited in the constellation Bootes, near the famous Plough asterism.
For those wondering if it's possible to take pictures of the meteor shower - yes, just don't try to use your mobile phone.
"You're unlikely to catch anything [with a phone] because they're so fleeting - they only last perhaps a fraction of a second - so your reactions are not going to be good enough to photograph it," Dr Massey said.
"So what people tend to do is what are called long exposures. They open up the lense or the shutter and leave it running for several minutes, or anything up to half an hour. In some cases people have sky cameras which run all night.
"You have to do that because you never know exactly when a meteor is coming. Photographing meteor showers requires patience!"
Related Links
Royal Astronomical Society
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
