First meteor shower of 2024 to light up North American skies this week

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The Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to light up skies above North America this week bringing in about 120 streaks of shooting stars per hour at its peak.

Astronomers say the event could peak from late night of 3 January to dawn of 4 January with the potential to be the strongest meteor shower of 2024.

The Quadrantid meteor shower, which is one of four major meteor showers every year – including Lyrids, Leonids, and Ursids – is expected to peak at about 7:53 am EST (12:53 GMT) on 4 January, according to Earthsky.com.

But unlike the other meteor showers whose peak may last for about two days, the Quadrantids’ peak lasts only a few hours.

This is due to the shower’s thin stream of particles and since the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle, according to Nasa.

In 2024, the meteor shower’s short peak is expected to last just for six hours with its climax likely to occur in daylight.

The shower gets its name from the now-defunct constellation Quadrans Muralis and is also called Bootids after the modern constellation, Boötes.

Under a dark sky with no Moon, over 100 shooting stars per hour could be visible, each traveling at speeds of about 41 kilometers (25.5 miles) per second.

But the event in 2024 may not be spectacular since a bright last quarter moon will be in the sky as the Quadrantids peak.

Meteors are dusty trails left in orbits by leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids.

As the Earth passes through these debris trails, these bits of space rocks disintegrate and catch fire in the atmosphere, leaving colorful streaks in the sky.

Unlike most meteor showers that originate from comets, the Quadrantids is from an asteroid that takes about 5.5 years to orbit the Sun once.

Due to the constellation’s position, the Quadrantid meteor shower will only be visible in the Northern Hemisphere.