{"id":792327,"date":"2024-12-31T11:02:15","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T16:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=792327"},"modified":"2024-12-31T11:02:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T16:02:15","slug":"the-quadrantid-meteors-and-more-ring-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=792327","title":{"rendered":"The Quadrantid Meteors and More Ring in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>This Weekend: Catch the Quadrantids at their annual peak, Earth at perihelion and the Moon blotting out Saturn.<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An early Quadrantid meteor from late 2016. Credit: Eliot Herman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ready for another amazing year of skywatching? The very first weekend of 2025 offers up a flurry of wintertime astronomy events, eluding a swift meteor shower, a January \u2018SuperSun,\u2019 and a lunar planetary pair up at dusk.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-170227\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-january-s-quad-watch\">January\u2019s \u2018Quad Watch\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>This year, the Quadrantid meteors peak on January 4<sup>th<\/sup> with a respectable projected Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of 80. This is versus a 27% illuminated waxing crescent Moon. Said slender Moon won\u2019t hamper observations, making 2025 an ideal year for the \u2018Quads\u2019<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.meteorshowers.org\/view\/iau-10\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-prospects-in-2025\">Prospects in 2025 <\/h2>\n<p>The short peak arrives at around 15:00-18:00 Universal Time (UT) on January 3rd, which favors the northern Pacific region at dawn. Keep in mind, it is still worth it for North American and European observers to watch on the mornings of January 3rd and the 4th before and after, in the event the peak arrives late.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"763\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-091955-1024x763.jpg\" alt=\"Quandrantids\" class=\"wp-image-170244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-091955-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-091955-580x432.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-091955-250x186.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-091955-768x572.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-091955.jpg 1378w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Quadrantid radiant, looking to the northeast around 2AM local. credit: Stellarium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The obscure name for the Quadrantids is the remnant of the now defunct constellation <em>Quadrans Muralis<\/em> (the Mural Quadrant), which was divided up between Draco, Hercules and Bo\u00f6tes (where the present day radiant lies at the shower\u2019s maximum) when the modern constellations were formalized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 1928 and published in 1930. I think it\u2019s great, how an obscure piece of astronomical history turns up in skywatching discussions once a year\u2026<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/QAAAAA.jpg\" alt=\"Quadrans\" class=\"wp-image-170245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/QAAAAA.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/QAAAAA-250x183.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reconstructing the archaic constellation Quadrans Muralis. Credit: Dave Dickinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The source of the Quadrantids is asteroid 2003 EH1, a rarity among meteor showers. The December Geminids also have a similar strange source, in rock-comet 3200 Phaethon.<\/p>\n<p>It has always been my experience that the \u2018Quads,\u2019 while they\u2019re a strong stream, are often elusive, with a swift and brief peak. Maybe, it\u2019s just because it tends to be brutally cold outside in early January, cutting the observing window short.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"799\" height=\"598\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/50803777223_067cfd70e0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Quad\" class=\"wp-image-170246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/50803777223_067cfd70e0_c.jpg 799w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/50803777223_067cfd70e0_c-580x434.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/50803777223_067cfd70e0_c-250x187.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/50803777223_067cfd70e0_c-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Quadrantid meteors from 2021. Credit: Filipp Romanov.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Be sure to dress warm, fill up your travel mug with hot tea or cocoa, and keep those backup camera batteries toasty warm on your January Quadrantid meteor quest.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-earth-at-perihelion\">Earth at Perihelion <\/h2>\n<p>Meanwhile, our home world reaches perihelion or its closest approach to the Sun on January 4<sup>th<\/sup> at 0.98333 AU distant at around 13:00 UT\/8:00 AM EST. It may seem ironic that we actually reach our closest point in our orbit in the depth of northern hemisphere winter. Of course, it\u2019s currently summertime in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n<p>This is also only true in our current epoch, as eccentricity of the Earth\u2019s orbit, the obliquity of the poles and precession of the equinoxes all change over time in what\u2019s known as Milankovitch cycles. The Sun does indeed appear slightly bigger in January versus aphelion in July (32\u2019 32\u201d versus 31\u201928\u201d across in apparent size)\u2026we checked:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Perihelion-vs-Aphelion-Final.jpg\" alt=\"Perihelion v Aphelion\" class=\"wp-image-170247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Perihelion-vs-Aphelion-Final.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Perihelion-vs-Aphelion-Final-580x282.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Perihelion-vs-Aphelion-Final-250x122.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Perihelion-vs-Aphelion-Final-768x373.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The apparent solar diameter as seen at perihelion and aphelion. Credit: Dave Dickinson.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-great-european-occultation\">A \u2018Great European Occultation\u2019  <\/h2>\n<p>Finally, the Moon occults (passes in front of) Saturn on January 4<sup>th<\/sup> at ~17:24 Universal Time (UT). The event favors Europe at dusk, and the Moon is a 25% illuminated, waxing crescent, one of the best times to catch an occultation. This is the first planetary occultation by the Moon for 2025.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"808\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/World-map.jpg\" alt=\"Occultation\" class=\"wp-image-170248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/World-map.jpg 808w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/World-map-580x347.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/World-map-250x150.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/World-map-768x460.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The footprint for the January 4th occultation of Saturn by the Moon. Credit: Occult 4.1.2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This should be a spectacular event, as the planet disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon, and reappears behind the bright sunlit side. 39\u201d wide (including rings), +1<sup>st<\/sup> magnitude Saturn will take a leisurely 45 seconds to a minute to fully disappear behind the Moon. The rings, though still barely visible, are headed towards edge on this year on March 23<sup>rd<\/sup>. The rest of us get a consolation prize of seeing a close pairing on Saturn and the crescent Moon at dusk worldwide.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"807\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092416-1024x807.jpg\" alt=\"Stellarium\" class=\"wp-image-170249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092416-1024x807.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092416-580x457.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092416-250x197.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092416-768x605.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092416.jpg 1431w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Moon versus Saturn on January 4th. Credit: Stellarium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Moon occults Saturn twice in 2025, with the next and final event occurring on February 1<sup>st<\/sup> for the remote Canadian Arctic and Alaska. The International Occultation Timing Association lists ingress\/egress times for locations along the track for the January 4th event.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"773\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1-773x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Saturn\" class=\"wp-image-170250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1-773x1024.jpg 773w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1-438x580.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1-189x250.jpg 189w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1-768x1017.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1-1159x1536.jpg 1159w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/14009980488_1dbe8cde7f_h-1.jpg 1176w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Moon occults Saturn in 2014. Credit: Paul Stewart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-and-something-more\">\u2026And Something More<\/h2>\n<p>Clouded out\u2026 or simply live in the wrong hemisphere? Astronomer Gianluca Masi will host no less than three virtual sessions this weekend, covering the Quadrantid meteors, the occultation of Saturn by the Moon, and the Moon\u2019s close pass near Venus on January 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, just one week prior to its greatest (dusk) elongation 47 degrees east of the Sun on the 10<sup>th<\/sup>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MoonVenus_2025_poster-1536x959-1-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"Moon\" class=\"wp-image-170252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MoonVenus_2025_poster-1536x959-1-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MoonVenus_2025_poster-1536x959-1-580x362.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MoonVenus_2025_poster-1536x959-1-250x156.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MoonVenus_2025_poster-1536x959-1-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/MoonVenus_2025_poster-1536x959-1.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Moon versus Venus. Credit: Gianluca Masi\/The Virtual Telescope Project. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Moon joins an enthralling planetary parade this weekend, sliding by Saturn and Venus to the west at dusk. Meanwhile, Jupiter and Mars await their turn to greet the Moon later in January to the east. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092220-1024x756.jpg\" alt=\"Dusk\" class=\"wp-image-170253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092220-1024x756.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092220-580x428.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092220-250x185.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092220-768x567.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Screenshot-2024-12-31-092220.jpg 1359w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Looking westward on the evening of January 4th. Credit: Stellarium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Wherever you may happen to observe from this weekend, there\u2019s a skywatching event for you. Be sure to embrace the cold as we kick off another year of astronomy and skywatching in 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-block sd-like jetpack-likes-widget-wrapper jetpack-likes-widget-unloaded\" id=\"like-post-wrapper-24000880-170227-677413312d0ef\" data-src=\"https:\/\/widgets.wp.com\/likes\/?ver=14.0#blog_id=24000880&amp;post_id=170227&amp;origin=www.universetoday.com&amp;obj_id=24000880-170227-677413312d0ef&amp;n=1\" data-name=\"like-post-frame-24000880-170227-677413312d0ef\" data-title=\"Like or Reblog\">\n<h3 class=\"sd-title\">Like this:<\/h3>\n<p><span class=\"button\"><span>Like<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"loading\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sd-text-color\"\/><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/170227\/the-quadrantid-meteors-and-more-ring-in-2025\/?rand=772204\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This Weekend: Catch the Quadrantids at their annual peak, Earth at perihelion and the Moon blotting out Saturn. An early Quadrantid meteor from late 2016. Credit: Eliot Herman Ready for&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":792328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-792327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genaero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=792327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/792328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=792327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=792327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=792327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}