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January starts with the Quadrantids, one of the fastest yet strongest meteor showers of the year.
According to the American Meteor Society, the shower is expected to peak between January 3 and 4. Sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere can best see the shower between the late hours of Wednesday and sunrise on Thursday.
Meteors are leftover pieces of broken asteroids and cometary particles that scatter in dusty paths orbiting the Sun. Each year, Earth passes through the debris trails, and bits of dust and rock create colorful, fiery displays called meteor showers as they disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere.
The Quadrantid shower is notoriously difficult to observe due to its short six-hour peak. The peak has a limited duration compared to most meteor showers, which peak in two days, because the rain has only a thin stream of particles and the Earth passes quickly at a perpendicular angle through the densest concentration of those particles, NASA said.
Forecasts for the shower’s peak range from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time), but meteors will be visible hours in advance. The American Meteor Society recommends meteor watching from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. local time for people in North America.
The earlier tense favors those along the east coast of North America, and the later tense favors observers in Hawaii and Alaska. The Quadrantids are usually not visible in the Southern Hemisphere because the shower’s radiant point is not that high in the sky before sunrise.
Check the Time and Date site to see your chances of watching the event.
What you will see
The peak may include more than 100 visible meteors per hour. You may even catch a glimpse of some fireballs during the meteor shower, which are bright bursts of light and color associated with larger particles that linger longer than typical meteor streaks, according to NASA.
Keep an eye on the north-northeast sky. Starting at 2 a.m. local time, stand or sit with the moon at your back and look at the sky for at least an hour, the American Meteor Society advises.
Visibility will depend on possible wintry, bad weather in the Northern Hemisphere. And the moon will be about 51% full, which could affect the visibility of the shower, but the company recommends trying to block the moon with a tree or building.
If you live in an urban area, you may want to drive to a place where there are no bright city lights. If you can find an area unaffected by light pollution, meteors can be visible every few minutes from late evening until sunrise.
Find an open space with a wide view of the sky. Make sure you have a chair or blanket so you can look straight up. And give your eyes about 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness — without looking at your phone — so the meteors are easier to spot.
Unusual origin
If the name of the meteor shower sounds strange, it’s probably because it doesn’t sound like it’s related to a constellation. That’s because the constellation of the same name, the Quadrantids, no longer exists – at least not as a recognized constellation.
The constellation Quadrans Muralis, first observed and noted in 1795 between Boötes and Draco, is no longer included in the International Astronomical Union’s list of modern constellations because it is considered obsolete and no longer used as a landmark for celestial navigation, according to EarthSky .
Like the Geminids meteor shower, the Quadrantids come from a mysterious asteroid or ‘rock comet’, rather than an icy comet, which is unusual. This particular asteroid is 2003 EH1, which takes 5.52 years to complete one orbit around the sun and has a diameter of 2 miles (3.2 kilometers).
But astronomers believe a second object, Comet 96P/Machholz, could contribute to the shower, according to EarthSky. The comet orbits the sun every 5.3 years.
Scientists believe that a larger comet was bound into a short orbit by the Sun around 2000 BC. The comet left behind meteors for years before disintegrating sometime between the 100s and 950s. As a result, the comet left behind many celestial offspring, collectively known as the Machholz Complex, which includes the parent bodies of the Quadrantid meteor shower, comet 96P/Machholz and the asteroid. 2003 EH1, as well as two different comet groups and eight meteor showers, according to EarthSky.
Meteor showers of 2024
After the Quadrantids, meteor shower activity decreases somewhat, and the next one won’t occur until April.
Lyrids: April 21-22
Eta Aquariids: May 4-5
Southern Delta Aquariids: July 29-30
Alpha Capricorns: July 30-31
Perseids: August 11-12
Draconids: October 7-8
Orionids: October 20-21
Southern Taurids: November 4-5
Northern Taurids: November 11-12
Leonids: November 17-18
Geminids: December 13-14
Ursids: December 21-22
Full moons and supermoons
Twelve full moons will occur in 2024, and according to EarthSky, the September and October lunar events will also be considered supermoons.
Definitions of a supermoon can vary, but the term generally denotes a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal and thus appears larger and brighter in the night sky. Some astronomers say the phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 90% of perigee – its closest approach to Earth in orbit.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, each month’s full moon is associated with a specific name. But the full moons have a variety of names and meanings according to different indigenous tribes.
Here are the full moons of 2024:
January 25: Wolf Moon
February 24: Snow Moon
March 25: Worm Moon
April 23: Pink moon
May 23: Flower Moon
June 21: Strawberry moon
July 21: Buck moon
August 19: Sturgeon moon
September 17: Harvest Moon
October 17: Hunter’s moon
November 15: Beaver Moon
December 15: Cold moon
Solar and lunar eclipses
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, there will be multiple eclipses in 2024, including two types of lunar eclipses and two types of solar eclipses.
The most anticipated of these events is the total solar eclipse that will take place on April 8 and will be visible to people in Mexico, the United States and Canada. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, completely blocking the face of the sun.
Those within the path of totality, or locations where the moon’s shadow will completely cover the sun, will see a total solar eclipse. People outside the path of totality will still be able to see a partial solar eclipse, in which the moon obscures only part of the sun’s face.
A total solar eclipse won’t be visible again in the contiguous US until August 2044.
An annular solar eclipse will occur in the sky over parts of South America on October 2. This type of solar eclipse is similar to a total solar eclipse, except that the moon is at the furthest point in its orbit from the Earth, so it cannot completely block the sun. Instead, annular solar eclipses create a “ring of fire” in the sky as the sun’s fiery light surrounds the moon’s shadow.
Meanwhile, a penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible to many in Europe, North and East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America and South America between March 24 and 25.
A lunar eclipse, which makes the moon appear dark or dim, occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon align, causing the moon to fall into the Earth’s shadow. A penumbral lunar eclipse is more subtle and occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s outer shadow, or penumbra.
A partial lunar eclipse, in which the Earth moves between the sun and the full moon without being perfectly aligned, will appear over Europe and much of Asia, Africa, North America and South America between September 17 and 18.
Check the Time and Date website to see when each of these eclipses will occur.
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