Sky tonight for this month

Friday, December 24, 2010

QUADRANTIDS METEOR SHOWER on Jan4th, 2011

QUADRANTIDS METEOR SHOWER
 The Quadrantids are an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at their peak.
The shower usually peaks on January 3 & 4, but some meteors can be visible from January 1 - 5. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Look for meteors radiating from the constellation Bootes.

The source of the Quadrantid meteor shower was unknown until Dec. 2003 when Peter Jenniskens of the NASA Ames Research Center found evidence that Quadrantid meteoroids come from 2003 EH1, an "asteroid" that is probably a piece of a comet that broke apart some 500 years ago. Earth intersects the orbit of 2003 EH1 at a perpendicular angle, which means we quickly move through any debris. That's why the shower is so brief.
Details here:
http://meteorshowersonline.com/quadrantids.html

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