Quadrantid meteor shower: Moon steals the show from 2023's first celestial event
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The moon stole some of the Quadrantid meteor shower's shine this morning. The celestial event peaked late the night of Jan. 3 and in the early hours the following day.
One of 12 annual meteor showers, the typically vibrant event is visible in January. For those watching, between 60 and 100 meteors or more per hour crossed the night sky.
But the bright, nearly full moon washed out some of the view this year. The moon enters its full phase this Friday, January 6. That led to a narrow peak of about six hours Wednesday morning.
Thus, instead of seeing up to 100 meteors per hour during its peak, people could see far less than that.
For sky gazers still wanting to check out the meteor shower, it's typically active through at least the middle of January, according to the American Meteor Society.
If you live in an urban area, you may want to drive to a place that isn't full of bright city lights. For those who find an area unaffected by light pollution, meteors are visible every couple of minutes from late evening until dawn.
Mark your calendar with the peak dates of other showers to watch in 2023:
- Lyrids: April 22-23
- Eta Aquariids: May 5-6
- Southern delta Aquariids: July 30-31
- Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31
- Perseids: August 12-13
- 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
As noted by NASA, in addition to the meteor shower, a recently discovered comet is now passing through the inner solar system and should be visible with a telescope and likely with binoculars. The comet, which has a mouthful of a name – C/2022 E3 (ZTF) – was first sighted in March last year, when it was already inside the orbit of Jupiter. It makes its closest approach to the Sun on January 12, and then passes its closest to Earth on February 2.