"Viewing the Night Sky - January Meteor Showers - The Quadrantids"

"Viewing the Night Sky - January Meteor Showers - The Quadrantids"," One such viewing opportunity is The Quadrantid meteor shower. The Discovery and History of the Quadrantids This meteor shower was first recorded in the 1830s by a Belgian astronomer named Adophe Quetelet. Up until about 1863, there is little record of much observation of this shower. The constellation's name in the 16th century was the Quadrans Muralis (Mural Quadrant). The Quadrantid meteor shower is special in that while most meteor showers originate from comets, the Quadrantids originate from an asteroid called, 2003 EH1. The discovery of the origin of the shower didn't come until 2003. More specifically, one must look to the Big Dipper and go to the end of the handle in the area between it and the head of the constellation of Draco. Firstly, the meteor shower is, for the most part, limited to viewers in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, Canada and the Scandinavian nations. One must catch the Quadrantids at their peak hour in order to see much significant activity. More specifically, the time between midnight and morning twilight. At their peak, the Quadrantids can offer anywhere from ten to sixty meteors in an hour, with some reports of over 100 per hour. In 1985, it was determined that 1000 years from now this stream will not have any contact with Earth. WHAT'S UP