Quadrantid Meteor Shower — Potentially Strongest Of 2023 — Peak Nears

ACROSS AMERICA — The often overlooked Quadrantid meteor shower doesn’t peak until overnight Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 3-4, 2023, but if you step outside and look at the skies anytime before then, you may see a few fireballs streaking across the sky.

The Quadrantids are potentially the strongest meteor shower of the year, but a 92 percent full moon will interfere with viewing. Also, the window to see the peak is only six hours. The best time to see the meteors is about an hour before dawn on Wednesday, when skies will be moon free.

The Quadrantids can produce over 100 meteors per hour, but average rates are around 25 an hour, according to the American Meteor Society. The shower remains active until Jan. 16. Though Quadrantid meteors lack persistent trains, the shower is known for producing bright fireballs.

Because the moon will interfere, it’s especially important to find a dark sky well away from city or streetlights. NASA advises serious meteor watchers to lie flat on their backs with their feet facing northeast, so they can take in as much of the sky as possible. Be sure to prepare for winter weather with sleeping bags and blankets.

• Related: 2023 Guide To Meteor Showers And Supermoons

Like the Geminid meteor shower, the Quadrantids originate from an asteroid first observed more than 500 years ago by Chinese astronomers. Most other meteor showers occur when Earth passes through debris left behind by comets.

The Quadrantids offer the last opportunity to see meteor showers until spring. The Lyrid meteor shower runs from April 16-25 every year, peaking overnight April 21-22. The moon will be more cooperative for the Lyrids at only about 6 percent full.

The Lyrids produce about 18 meteors an hour at the peak. The Lyrids are known to produce bright dust trails that last for several seconds. The Lyrids are produced by dust particles left behind by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.

The Lyrids intersect with the Eta Aquariids, which run April 15-May 27, peaking May 4-5. The best place to see it is in the Southern Hemisphere, where it produces about 60 meteors an hour, but it’s a decent show in the Northern Hemisphere, too, and viewers in that part of the world can expect to see about half that many. Comet Haley is the parent of this meteor shower, which has been observed since ancient times. The moon will be about 9 percent full.