Short-lived peak of Quadrantid meteor shower set for Sunday night
By
Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior content editor
Published Dec 31, 2021 12:20 PM EDT
|
Updated Jan 2, 2022 11:47 AM EDT
The Quadrantid meteor shower will provide some post-New Year’s Day fireworks in the early morning of Jan. 3. Make sure you plan ahead and fast because this meteor shower comes and goes very briefly.
The second night of the new year could be lit up by shooting stars, but only certain parts of the world will be able to enjoy the event.
The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Sunday night into early Monday morning and is the third meteor shower in three weeks, following the Geminids in mid-December and the Ursids on the night following the December solstice. This meteor shower favors the Northern Hemisphere with very few shooting stars visible south of the equator.
However, to see the early January meteor shower, onlookers will need more than just a favorable weather forecast.
Most meteor showers are active for a few nights surrounding the peak, giving people all around the world the opportunity to watch the celestial light show, but that is not the case for the Quadrantids.
The peak of the Quadrantids only lasts for around four hours, according to the International Meteor Organization (IMO), meaning that the only areas of the world that can see the event are where it is dark during the short window.
The IMO is predicting this year's peak to occur around 4 p.m. EST (21:00 UT). As a result, Asia, Europe and northern Africa are likely to be the best places to view the Quadrantids in 2022 due to the projected window of activity.
However, not all hope is lost for North American observers. If the Quadrantids arrive slightly later than expected, folks across Atlantic Canada and the eastern United States could have a chance at spotting some shooting stars before the conclusion of the meteor shower.
A person watches a meteor streak through the sky. (PA Images via Reuters Connect / Danny Lawson)
Where everything comes together, the Quadrantids could end up being one of the better meteor showers of 2022.
In the past, around 25 Quadrantid meteors per hour have been reported, but there have also been years where activity spikes to over 100 meteors per hour. Additionally, this year's showing of the Quadrantids occurs right after a new moon, meaning that the sky will be darker and it will be easier to spot some of the dimmer meteors.
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The weather, as usual, will play a big role in allowing stargazers to potentially glimpse a shooting star.
"Many people in the East are likely to miss out on this meteor shower due to an extensive swath of clouds and precipitation from a storm system moving through the area," AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff said. "While no precipitation is expected across the northern tier of the country, clouds can limit viewing at times from the interior Northwest to the upper Great Lakes."
Duff noted that a new storm will roll into the Pacific Northwest and lead to poor viewing conditions for Seattle and Portland. A clear sky is most likely in the Southwestern and South Central states.
There will be a long break in meteor activity following the Quadrantids, as the next meteor shower won't occur until the spring. This is the opposite of autumn when there are meteor showers every few weeks.
The next moderate meteor shower is the Lyrids, which won't peak until the night of April 21 into April 22. The Lyrids are typically more consistent than the Quadrantids but only bring around 15 to 20 shooting stars per hour.
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News / Astronomy
Short-lived peak of Quadrantid meteor shower set for Sunday night
By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior content editor
Published Dec 31, 2021 12:20 PM EDT | Updated Jan 2, 2022 11:47 AM EDT
The Quadrantid meteor shower will provide some post-New Year’s Day fireworks in the early morning of Jan. 3. Make sure you plan ahead and fast because this meteor shower comes and goes very briefly.
The second night of the new year could be lit up by shooting stars, but only certain parts of the world will be able to enjoy the event.
The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Sunday night into early Monday morning and is the third meteor shower in three weeks, following the Geminids in mid-December and the Ursids on the night following the December solstice. This meteor shower favors the Northern Hemisphere with very few shooting stars visible south of the equator.
However, to see the early January meteor shower, onlookers will need more than just a favorable weather forecast.
Most meteor showers are active for a few nights surrounding the peak, giving people all around the world the opportunity to watch the celestial light show, but that is not the case for the Quadrantids.
The peak of the Quadrantids only lasts for around four hours, according to the International Meteor Organization (IMO), meaning that the only areas of the world that can see the event are where it is dark during the short window.
The IMO is predicting this year's peak to occur around 4 p.m. EST (21:00 UT). As a result, Asia, Europe and northern Africa are likely to be the best places to view the Quadrantids in 2022 due to the projected window of activity.
However, not all hope is lost for North American observers. If the Quadrantids arrive slightly later than expected, folks across Atlantic Canada and the eastern United States could have a chance at spotting some shooting stars before the conclusion of the meteor shower.
A person watches a meteor streak through the sky. (PA Images via Reuters Connect / Danny Lawson)
Where everything comes together, the Quadrantids could end up being one of the better meteor showers of 2022.
In the past, around 25 Quadrantid meteors per hour have been reported, but there have also been years where activity spikes to over 100 meteors per hour. Additionally, this year's showing of the Quadrantids occurs right after a new moon, meaning that the sky will be darker and it will be easier to spot some of the dimmer meteors.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
The weather, as usual, will play a big role in allowing stargazers to potentially glimpse a shooting star.
"Many people in the East are likely to miss out on this meteor shower due to an extensive swath of clouds and precipitation from a storm system moving through the area," AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff said. "While no precipitation is expected across the northern tier of the country, clouds can limit viewing at times from the interior Northwest to the upper Great Lakes."
Duff noted that a new storm will roll into the Pacific Northwest and lead to poor viewing conditions for Seattle and Portland. A clear sky is most likely in the Southwestern and South Central states.
There will be a long break in meteor activity following the Quadrantids, as the next meteor shower won't occur until the spring. This is the opposite of autumn when there are meteor showers every few weeks.
The next moderate meteor shower is the Lyrids, which won't peak until the night of April 21 into April 22. The Lyrids are typically more consistent than the Quadrantids but only bring around 15 to 20 shooting stars per hour.
MORE SPACE AND ASTRONOMY:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo