Quadrantids
The Quadrantids are an early January meteor shower with a short, sharp peak, named after an old constellation.
The Quadrantids peak around 3 to 4 January. Their radiant lies in the northern sky between the Plough and the head of Boötes, in an area once marked as the constellation Quadrans Muralis, the mural quadrant, which is no longer used. That is why the shower has an unusual name.
At their best, the Quadrantids can rival the Perseids, with around 80 to 120 meteors per hour, but the peak is very short, often lasting only a few hours. Weather in early January and the timing of the peak mean that many years are disappointing, and good displays are prized by observers.
The likely parent is the asteroid 2003 EH1, which may be a fragment of a comet that broke up. Some astronomers link it to a comet seen by Chinese, Japanese and Korean observers in 1490. From the UK, the radiant is high before dawn, making this a good shower for northern observers.
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Level: Explorer Ages 10 and up