The best time to spot the meteor shower will be during the hours before dawn, according to EarthSky.
The waxing crescent moon, only 11% full, will set well before midnight, allowing unhampered viewing of the meteor shower, Lunsford said.
Like the Geminid meteor shower, the Quadrantids come from a mysterious asteroid or “rock comet,” rather than an icy comet, which is unusual.
As a result, the comet left behind many celestial offspring known collectively as the Machholz Complex, which includes the Quadrantid meteor shower’s parent bodies Comet 96P/Machholz and asteroid 2003 EH1, as well as two different comet groups and eight meteor showers, according to EarthSky.
Meteor showers of 2025After the Quadrantids, there is a bit of a lull in meteor shower activity, and the next one won’t occur until April.
Persons:
Bob Lunsford, Lunsford, Comet, Capricornids
Organizations:
CNN, NASA, American Meteor Society, Southern Hemisphere, Delta Aquariids, Taurids
Locations:
Alaska, Hawaii, Asia, North America, Southern, Boötes, Lyrids