Quadrantids
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The Quadrantids are a strong January meteor shower.
The radiant of this shower is an area inside the constellation Boötes. The name comes from Quadrans Muralis, an obsolete constellation that is now part of Boötes. It lies between the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the quadrilateral of stars marking the head of the constellation Draco.[1]
Adolphe Quetelet of Brussels Observatory discovered the shower in the 1830s, and shortly afterward it was noted by several other astronomers in Europe and America.[1]
Peak intensity is exceedingly sharp: meteor rates exceed one-half of their highest value for only about 8 hours (compared to two days for the August Perseids). This means that the stream of particles that produces this shower is narrow – and apparently derived within the last 500-years from some orbiting body.[1] The parent body of the Quadrantids was recently tentatively identified (in a paper by Peter Jenniskens) as the minor planet 2003 EH1, which in turn may be the same object as the comet C/1490 Y1 [2] which was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Korean astronomers 500 years ago.
The best date to view the Quadrantids is January 3, although they can normally be viewed on any day from the 1st to the 5th of the month. The radiant rises after local midnight.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Stellar Meteor Shower Jan. 3". Space.com. http://www.space.com/spacewatch/081219-ns-meteor-shower.html. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- ^ 2003 EH1 Is the Quadrantid Shower Parent Comet
[edit] External links
- International Meteor Organization 2006 Meteor Shower Calendar (PDF)
- NASA Quadrantid Airborne Campaign
[edit] See also
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