(NLDO) - From a constellation that is no longer on the astronomical map, 80 fireballs will pour out every hour during the night of the Quadrantids meteor shower's peak.
According to Date and Time , the peak night of the first meteor shower in 2025 - Quadrantids - will fall on the night of January 3 and early morning of January 4 if observed from Vietnam.
This is one of the major meteor showers of the year. At its peak this year, about 80 meteors are expected to appear per hour.
A meteor shower from the US perspective - Photo: NASA
The Quadrantids are also among the rare meteor showers that originate not from a comet tail, but from an asteroid called 2003 EH1.
According to NASA, 2003 EH1 was discovered in 2003 and is only 3 km in diameter, taking 5.52 years to orbit the Sun.
It may also be a "dead comet" or "rock comet", which differs slightly from a normal asteroid in having a thin tail of dusty rocks.
This also makes the Quadrantids particularly interesting: Quadrantid meteors, which NASA calls "fireball meteors," are large, bright, and last longer than normal meteor streaks.
The reason is that the debris from asteroid 2003 EH1 is larger than the debris typically found in comet tails.
Usually, meteor showers are named after the constellation they originate from. But if you look at a sky map, you won't find any constellations with names similar to the Quadrantids.
Because the origin of this meteor shower is a "lost world" called Quadrans Muralis.
French astronomer Jerome Lalande named the constellation in 1795, but when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) compiled its modern list of constellations in 1922, Quadrans Muralis was dropped from the list.
So to locate where the fireballs will be coming from, you should look for the constellations Bootes (the cowherd) and Draco (the dragon). The meteor shower will radiate from a position between these two constellations.
The Quadrantids meteors will be emitted (radiant) between the constellations Draco and Bootes. Also around are the constellations Ursa Major and Hercules - Photo: ROYAL ASTRONOMIC SOCIETY
The first Quadrantids meteors actually started falling sporadically on December 28, 2024, and will continue until January 12, 2025.
However, the number of meteors will gradually decrease in the following nights. This year is not a boom year for the Quadrantids.
According to NASA, the number of Quadrantids meteors often fluctuates greatly over the years, with some years seeing only 60 meteors per hour during peak night, and other years seeing up to 200 meteors per hour.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/dem-nay-viet-nam-don-cuc-dai-mua-sao-bang-tu-the-gioi-da-mat-196250102210713623.htm
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