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Credit & Copyright: Jack Fusco
Explanation:
Named for a forgotten constellation, the
Quadrantid Meteor Shower
is an annual event for planet Earth's
northern hemisphere skygazers.
It usually peaks briefly in the cold, early morning hours of January 4.
The shower's radiant point on the sky
lies within the old, astronomically obsolete constellation
Quadrans
Muralis.
That position is situated near the boundaries of the modern
constellations Hercules, Bootes, and Draco.
Many of this year's Quadrantid meteors were dim, but the one captured
in this north-looking view is bright and easy to spot.
In the foreground is the Maurice River's East Point Lighthouse
located near the southern tip of New Jersey on the US east coast.
The likely source of the dust stream that produces
Quadrantid meteors was identified
in 2003
as an asteroid.
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: meteor - meteor shower
Publications with words: meteor - meteor shower
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 25 Á Twelve Years of Kappa Cygnids
- APOD: 2025 July 23 Á Fireball over Cape San Blas
- APOD: 2024 December 10 Á The Great Meteor Storm of 1833
- APOD: 2024 November 27 Á The Meteor and the Comet
- Meteor over the Bay of Naples
- Quadrantids of the North
- APOD: 2023 December 17 Á Geminids over Chinas Nianhu Lake