Title: Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Location: Hawaiian Islands & Mainland U.S.
Date / Time: January 2-3, 2009
Comments: The beginning of January can be an exciting time for meteor watchers as the Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the strongest meteor showers of the year. This year, the Quadrantids are expected to peak in a Moon-free sky, around 3AM (HST) on Saturday morning, Jan. 3rd. Under clear skies, from a dark viewing location, we might expect to see as many as 100 meteors (shooting stars) per hour. From around 3:00 AM, thru sunrise Saturday morning, get yourself comfortably situated in the darkest area you can find. A lounge chair with blankets & a thermos with a hot beverage would be great. You DO NOT need a telescope or binoculars to see this, or any meteor shower. Just make sure you are warm & comfortable, find a dark spot, & scan the sky for streaks of light! Friday night into Saturday morning would be an excellent time for camping under the (shooting) stars.... These meteors will appear to ŇradiateÓ from the constellation Boštes, the constellation in which Hawaii's beloved zenith star, Hokule'a (Arcturus) resides. Boštes will be fully up in the Northeast by 3AM on the morning of January 3rd. Look in the direction of the Big Dipper & let the light show begin! Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes thru the path of a comet. The bits of debris left behind by comets, most no larger than a grain of sand, create a spectacular light show as they enter (& burn up) in Earth's atmosphere. There is evidence that Quadrantid meteors come from "2003-EH1", an "asteroid" that is probably a piece of a comet that broke apart some 500 years ago. Earth intersects the orbit of 2003-EH1 at a perpendicular angle, which means we quickly move through any debris. That is why the shower is so brief, lasting only a couple of hours.

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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