The world's inhabitants will see the first sky show of 2025: when the Quadrantid meteor shower will take place
Astronomy enthusiasts entered the new year of 2025 with the Quadrantid meteor shower. However, the peak of this meteor shower is expected on Friday night, before dawn on January 3.
According to NASA, the Quadrantids are one of the most abundant meteor showers of the year. If the sky is cloudless, about 120 flashes per hour can be seen on the peak night, NBCNews reports.
The Quadrantid meteor shower will last until January 16.
Source: Getty
Where and how best to watch the shooting stars
The quadrants will be best seen from mid-northern to far northern latitudes on Friday before sunlight begins to appear, astronomers say.
No special equipment is required, and the meteors can be seen in the sky with the naked eye. After all, this meteor shower is one of the brightest and most prolific of the year – about 120 flashes per hour.
For the perfect viewing experience, experts advise going to the countryside, away from street lights, and finding a place with a clear and unobstructed view of the sky.
During the peak of the downpour early on Friday, the crescent moon will have already set and the shooting stars will not be in the shadow of its light. Therefore, astronomers emphasize that nothing will interfere with watching a space show.
The best place to watch the shooting stars is outside the city.
Source: Getty
Why the Quadrantids
According to scientists, meteor showers usually get their name from their location in the sky. Perseid meteors, for example, come from the constellation Perseus, and Geminid meteors from the constellation Geminids.
The Quadrantids, however, are named after an ancient constellation known as the Quadrant Muralis. This group of stars was not included by the International Astronomical Union when it created a list of recognized modern constellations in 1922, but the meteor shower still retained its name, experts say.
The former constellation Quadrans Muralis was located near the Big Dipper. Although meteors can flow from this point in the sky, observers can see shooting stars everywhere without looking in a particular direction.
How a meteor shower occurs
Astronomers explain that meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through giant streams of comet or asteroid debris. When these pieces of rock and space dust enter the planet's atmosphere, they burn up and scatter across the night sky like shooting stars.
Quadrantids are known not only for their prolific output but also for creating bright and sometimes colorful fireballs in the sky as they come from larger debris, astronomers say. This meteor shower is known to be caused by an asteroid called 2003 EH1, which takes more than 5 years to make one revolution around the Sun, scientists say.
Interestingly, most meteor showers peak within two days, but the Quadrantids have a shorter peak that lasts only about six hours. According to NASA, this is because the debris cloud is relatively thin, and the Earth's orbit is such that the planet rotates through it at a perpendicular angle.
After the Quadrantids, the next major meteor shower of the year will be the Lyrids, which will shine in the sky in April, according to starry-sky experts.
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