In the meteor showers I’ve mentioned before, there was always a Debbie downer moment when I tell you that it is supposed to rain 3 inches or the moon will be so bright you could read by its light.
Well, no such (big) downer moment tonight!
The Quadrantid meteor shower will peak in the early hours of Wednesday, the first meteor shower of the new year.
And this could be one of the
best ones of the year, too.
The peak is due for about 1:30 a.m. local time and the radiant point is midway between the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the quadrilateral of stars marking the head of the constellation Draco, in the northeast part of the sky.
The radiant point should rise above the horizon just after midnight.
This is usually the point where I burst your bubble and crush your spirits.
Well, the moon is waxing and nearly full, but will set at 2:30 a.m., leaving a pitch black sky with bright stars shining. The sky is forecast to be mostly clear, thanks to a high pressure system that has parked over the southern United States (and won’t be going anywhere for a while.)
The meteors will be more frequent the further east you are. Here, the radiant point will be so low, it will cut down on the frequency, but the dark skies will help you see more.
So find a nice, quiet place north of town to see the show. And be sure to bundle up: lows are forecast to be just below freezing overnight.
If you really want to see a meteor shower this year, this is probably the one to get. The
next one won’t be until April, and it’s small. The next big shower is in August.
And as was the case with most of the showers last year, you can’t always count on the weather and moon to cooperate, so take advantage of these ideal conditions.
--Jerry Wofford
