Heavenly “fireworks” in the moonlight. Dials peak on Wednesday morning

“In many ways, the Quadrantids can be defined as one of the three strongest meteor showers of the year. This is mainly demonstrated by the value of the zenith frequency, which is usually indicated by the figure of 120 meteors per hour,” summarized the astronomy popularizer Petr Horálek of the Physics Institute of the University of Silesia in Opava.

“In contrast, the short duration of peak activity – about six hours – and the generally high likelihood of cloudy weather in early January play against the swarm. And when it gets out of time, it very often obliterates the Moon,” he added.

In January, the Moon is high above the horizon and will be in phase about two days before a full moon that night. Its light will therefore somehow “obstruct” the Quadrantids’ visibility before it finally sets.

According to Horálek, people can still see 60 to 80 meteors per hour this year, preferably in the morning hours, with low cloud and away from cities.

The Quadrantids are located in the sky in the constellation Shepherd. However, the swarm got its name from the constellation Wall Quadrant, of which it was part in the past.

In 1922, however, this constellation was abolished by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), it has been officially valid since 1930.

“What’s interesting is that the progenitor body of the shower is not a comet, but an asteroid that was only discovered in the 21st century. It doesn’t have a name yet, just a number in the asteroid catalog (196,256). The preliminary designation 2003 EH1 will tell us the year of discovery – this March it will be only 20 years since we know the corresponding planet,” Jan Veselý of the Planetum organization, which brings together three observatories from Prague, added on the website of the Czech Astronomical Society.

And what observation conditions does the weather hold for us on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday?

“The least cloud cover will be in the first half of the night – partly clear or clear, only occasionally with fog. In the latter part of the night, there will be fog or low cloud, only occasionally partly cloudy. The mists can occasionally be freezing. There will be more fog and low clouds in the southern half of the territory,” meteorologist Dagmar Honsová told Novinka.