It is expected that the meteor shower will be the first meteor shower under the astronomical conditions of zHR, and the number of meteors will be up to 120 hours per day in 2024, Friends who like meteor showers can choose to observe them from the early morning of the 4th to before sunrise.
In fact, the quadrant meteor shower has begun to warm up before the arrival of the new year. Its active period is from the end of December 2021 to the middle of January the next year, which is the coldest period in winter in the northern hemisphere.
Most meteor showers are named after the constellation where the radiation point is located, and the quadrant meteor shower is no exception, but this constellation is not among the modern 88 constellations. Quadrant is a constellation name that has been cancelled. The meteor shower radiation point named after quadrant is located at the junction of Andromeda, shepherd, Ursa Major and Wuxian. It is a very suitable meteor shower for observation in the northern hemisphere. Especially in the latter half of the night, more meteors can be seen. The speed of the meteor shower is medium, and there are many bright meteors.
"The quadrant meteor shower, the Perseid meteor shower and the Geminid meteor shower are called the three major meteor showers in the northern hemisphere. Compared with the other two meteor showers, the peak duration of the quadrant meteor shower is very short, about only a few hours. Its radiation point rises relatively high in the second half of the night, and catches up with the cold winter. The observation conditions are not very friendly." Song Yuanyuan, director of Tianjin Astronomical Society and astronomy popularization expert of Tianjin Science and Technology Museum, said.
According to the astronomical forecast, this year's quadrant meteor shower will most likely appear at 4:40 Beijing time on January 4, which is the second day of the twelfth lunar month. There is no moonlight interference, and the maximum will occur at night, which is very beneficial to the observation.
"Both Perseid meteor shower and Geminid meteor shower will be disturbed by moonlight during the maximum period in 2022, and the brilliance will be discounted. Therefore, quadrant meteor shower can be said to be the most suitable meteor shower for Chinese public observation this year. The ideal observation period is from the early morning of January 4 to sunrise, which can be seen with the naked eye without any observation equipment. But now it is a cold winter During the festival, the temperature at night will be very low. Friends who like meteor showers must pay attention to cold prevention and warmth when observing. " Song Yuanyuan specially reminded.
