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REMEMBER: TONIGHT is the peak night to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower! (It will continue until the 5th, but tonight is really “the night”!). On a rare occasion to be sad about the full moon, you can do that tonight, as the moons brightness will wash out all but the brightest of meteors. Still, there are worse things to do than camping out in a moonlit night! 🙂
The Quadrantid will be the first meteor shower of 2015.
But there is no constellation named Quadrans, so where did the Quadrantids get their name? It turns out that there once was a constellation named “Quadrans Muralis” (“the Wall Quadrant”) which was incorporated into the constellation Boötes in 1922. This is close to the Big Dipper.
Maximum meteors: around 40 meteors per hour.
Velocity 25 miles/sec (medium/slow velocity)
These meteors are leftover pieces of comet 2003 EH1.
When: As usual: The best time to see ANY meteor shower is the hour or two before dawn. Try between midnight-2am for some great results without losing *too* much sleep! You may also be able to catch some of these beforehand as spectacular “Earth Grazers”, beginning at about 9pm PST.
Where: If you can, get as high up as possible to sit above the light and air pollution to get the best sights. I personally prefer Top Of The World in Laguna Beach.
Editor’s note: If you snap a great picture of the meteor shower and would like to send it in, you can post it in the comments. We just might feature it in a photo gallery or story!
