Meteor showers Quadrantids
Quadrantids
The year’s first shower, and its briefest
A winter shower whose peak lasts only a few hours, from what may be a dormant comet.
- Active period
- 28 December to 12 January
- Usual maximum
- Around 3 January
- ZHR under ideal skies
- About 110
01 / Overview
Meet Quadrantids
The Quadrantids peak in early January at rates matching the Perseids and Geminids, yet they are routinely missed: the maximum lasts only a few hours, and a few time zones off the mark leaves nothing but stragglers. The radiant lies in northern Boötes, in what was once the constellation Quadrans Muralis — a name the shower kept after the constellation itself was retired.
A maximum as narrow as a gate
Most streams are wide enough that Earth takes a day or two to cross them. This one is narrow: rates fall by half within six hours either side of the peak. In the same year, one longitude sees a sky full of meteors while the other side of the world sees almost nothing, so it is worth checking a forecast of that year’s maximum before setting out.
A comet that stopped working
The parent is generally taken to be asteroid 2003 EH₁, whose orbit matches a comet recorded in 1490 and which is most likely a dormant nucleus that has exhausted its volatiles. Objects like it are a reminder that no sharp line separates comets from asteroids.
02 / Key data
Core parameters
- Active period
- 28 December to 12 January
- Usual maximum
- Around 3 January
- ZHR under ideal skies
- About 110
- Parent body
- Asteroid 2003 EH₁
- Recurrence
- Early January, every year
Data and calculation notes
Active periods, peak dates and rates are multi-year averages; each year differs a little, so plan against the forecast issued for the year in question.
03 / Observing tips
How to watch
- The peak lasts only hours; check the predicted time for the current year before you go.
- The radiant climbs after midnight, so the hours before dawn are best.
- January nights are cold; warm clothing matters more than a telescope.
04 / Sources