Meteor shower to be most visible in PH skies tonight

The annual Quadrantids meteor shower is expected to peak and to be seen on January 4, 2017. It is said to be more visible this year as there will only be dim light from the waning moon.

Image grabbed from NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environments Office. 

According to the Time and Date website, the Quadrantids is usually active between the end of December and the second of January, peaking around January 3 to January 4. Its peak period lasts for only a few hours, different from the other meteor showers that stay at their peak for two days.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA) weather observer Nico Mendoza, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, said that the Quadrantids’ peak activity will be seen during the early mornings of January 3 and 4, and at a rate of at least 40 per hour.

“On average the Quadrantids shower 30 meteors per hour, but this year, there’s a prediction the shower can reach up to 100 to 120 meteors per hour, although that’s on a perfect night – no clouds, no moon, no city lights,” Mendoza added.

The meteor shower can best be observed to those who are in the Northern Hemisphere, the Philippines included. Astronomers suggest for those who want to see the “falling stars” to lay down on the ground and look to the North.

The Quadrantids meteor shower took its name from the extinct constellation Quadrans Muralis and appears to radiate “between the area of Ursa Major (Big Bear) and the Bootes (Herdsman) constellations.”

 

Sources: Philippine Star, Inquirer.net, Time and Date