YOU may still be able to spot a peak of the first meteor shower of 2021.
The Quantarid meteor shower peaked yesterday on January 3 but is usually active from late December till around January 12.
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The Quantarids peak in early January each year.
The celestial display occurs because the Earth passes through the trail of an asteroid or possible rock comet called 2003 EH1.
This space rock is travelling through our Solar System at 26 miles per second.
The shower is known for its bright fireball meteors.
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Nasa considers it to be “one of the best annual meteor showers”.
At its peak 60 to 200 meteors can be seen at anyone time.
How to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower
Some experts think it’s best to try and spot the shower in the early hours of the morning just before sunrise.
The meteor shower should be visible from most of the countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
You can also try looking in the evening.
You’ll need to look north-east and below the handle of the Big Dipper constellation.
As with any meteor shower, there is no guarantee you’ll definitely be able to spot it as sometimes it just comes down to the luck of being in the right place at the right time.
Try to be in a place with limited light pollution so your eyes can adjust to the night sky.
What’s the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here’s what you need to know, according to Nasa…
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
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Will you be looking out for the meteor shower? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
