Quadrantide Meteor Shower to Light Up Northern Hemisphere Skies | Meteors

While fireworks are a traditional way to welcome the new year, a natural phenomenon will light up the northern sky this weekend as the annual Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak.

The event takes its name from a now-obsolete constellation known as the Quadrans Muralis and is best seen in the Northern Hemisphere, where the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Boötes, which is found near the cluster of stars often called the Plow or Big Dipper.

Unlike many meteor showers that peak over a number of days, the Quadrantides peak for just a few hours. According to Nasa60 to as many as 200 meteors can be seen per hour in perfect conditions. Nasa said the best time to see them in 2025 was in the early morning hours of January 3.

In Britain, the best time to see them is from late at night on January 3 to dawn on January 4, said Dr. Shyam Balaji, a researcher in astroparticle physics and cosmology at King’s College London.

Meteor showers are known to occur when Earth passes through dust left by celestial bodies such as comets.

However, it was not until 2003 that the identity of the object behind the Quadrantids was discovered, when Dr. Peter Jenniskens, an astronomer and researcher at the Nasa Ames Research Center and the Seti Institute, revealed the source of the meteor shower to be the near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH1.

Those hoping to catch a glimpse of the show should bundle up warm and head out into a dark area away from street lights. Once you’ve adjusted to the low light, settle in and scan the sky with your eyes.

Balaji said the waxing crescent moon was expected to provide relatively good viewing conditions, adding that the shower could be colorful.

“The Quadrantids are known for their bright fireball meteors, which can appear blue,” Balaji said. “This blue color is due to the high speed of the meteors and the presence of certain elements such as magnesium and iron in the meteoroids, which emit blue light when they burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.”