The first astronomical phenomenon to occur in the year 2024. Learn about it

2024-01-02 2024-01-02T15:48:40Z

Arabia Weather - Meteor showers are among the wonderful astronomical phenomena that fascinate many people, and at the beginning of 2024, North America will witness the launch of the first meteor showers of the year, specifically the Quadrantid meteor showers.

These showers are expected to be the strongest of 2024, with up to 120 meteors per hour being visible during their peak. According to the Space website, the Quadrantid meteor showers are considered among the most beautiful and distinctive meteor showers, as they are distinguished by their fast and bright meteors that sparkle in the night sky.

Despite their beauty, the peak time of these showers is very short, with a peak period of only six hours.

Quadrantid meteor showers

With the peak expected at 7:53 a.m. EDT (12:53 p.m. GMT) on January 4 , around 4:53 a.m. to dawn is the ideal time to spot meteor showers from North America.

For those residing in the western regions of the continent, they will have the best opportunity to observe showers in the early hours of the night.

The rate of seeing meteors is usually about 25 meteors per hour in a dark sky during the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower. However, navigating to dark sky areas is unlikely to be of added value during this event in 2024, as the last moon will be in the expected quarter. Bright in the sky at the same time as the peak of the meteor shower.

Meteors are small rocky particles that collide with the Earth's atmosphere. These rolling particles heat up and evaporate, causing the release of energy that appears in the night sky in the form of lines of light.

It is worth noting that meteor showers usually take a name that reflects the constellation from which they appear to rise, and in the case of Quadrans meteor showers, meteors emanate from the constellation Quadrans Muralis , although it is no longer recognized as an official constellation.

This constellation is located between the constellations Botes and Draco, near the end of the handle of the large jar in the northern sky, according to NASA. Due to their location in the sky, the Quadrantid meteor shower can only be seen in the Northern Hemisphere.