How To See Tonight’s Meteor Shower
By
4 days ago
Shooting stars for the new year
Forget new year fireworks. As British interest in stargazing soars, you won’t want to miss nature’s light show: the Quarantid meteor shower will streak across the sky tonight. Here’s how to see it.
How To See The Quarantid Meteor Shower Tonight
If you’ve spotted any shooting stars trailing across the night sky over the last couple of days, you’re way ahead of the curve: the annual Quarantid meteor shower has been decorating the sky since Boxing Day and will last until 12 January – but it’s set to peak tonight (3–4 January).
According to the Royal Observatory, ‘The Quadrantid meteor shower is among the strongest and most consistent meteor showers of the year, with a maximum rate of 120 meteors per hour on a clear night.’
Viewing Tips
Meteors are bright enough to see with the naked eye, and the Quarantids in particular will appear as bluish- or yellowish-white meteors with fine trains trailing behind. You won’t need binoculars or a telescope to see them, but you will need to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark for around 15 minutes before you expect to spot anything. Likewise, astronomers can’t put their finger on the exact moment the Quarantid meteor shower will peak – so settle down and get comfortable as you await the show.
As always, the best conditions to stargaze are wide open spaces (where you can see the full expanse of the sky) away from light pollution like buildings and streetlights. The moon will set below the horizon by 10pm, so natural moonlight pollution shouldn’t pose an issue.
Clear skies are also vital for good viewing – and after a foggy, misty and dreary Christmas period, we finally have a more promising forecast. However, with clearer skies comes brisker weather: the UK is expected to be incredibly cold tonight (with sub-zero temperatures and snow warnings), so make sure you wrap up warm, and perhaps take a flask of hot chocolate or tea along with you.
