Quadrantids meteor shower to welcome 2025: Where and when to watch cosmic wonders in India
Meteor shower occurs whenever the planet passes through the debris which has been left by a comet or asteroid. Quadrantids meteor showers will welcome New Year 2025.
New Year 2025 will open with a stunning celestial event, welcoming new beginnings with meteor shower Quadrantids. This cosmic wonder became visible first on December 27 and has been ongoing but will peak on January 3 and 4.
Quadrantids, famous for its brief period but intense peak, are one of the best meteor showers held annually. This particular meteor shower is unique as it comes from the 2003 EH1 asteroid, which could be a "dead comet" or a "rock comet." Meanwhile, other meteor showers originate from comets, according to NASA.
"The reason the peak is so short is due to the shower's thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle," NASA said.
In the upcoming year, we will witness a total of three meteor showers. As mentioned above, this astronomical happening will start with the Quadrantids where 80-120 meteors per hour will illuminate the night sky. The peak timings to catch a view are 5:30 pm on January 3 until 5:24 pm on January 4.
- Second meteor shower of the year will be the Lyrid which will be active between April 16 and 25 but will peak on April 23 between 4:30 am and 5:30 am.
- Third meteor shower of the year will be the Eta Aquariid, which will be active between April 19 and May 28 but will peak on May 6 between 3:30 am and 5:30 am.
- Fourth meteor shower of the year will be the Perseids, which are one of the brighter meteor showers of the year. They will be active between July 17 and August 24 and will peak around 11:30 pm on August 12 till 2:30 am on August 13.
- Fifth meteor shower of the year will be the Draconid, also known as the Giacobinids. It is one of the two meteor showers to annually grace the skies in October. It will peak around 5:30 pm on October 8 till 1:30 am on October 9.
- Sixth meteor shower of the year will be the Orionids, which will be the second meteor shower of the month. It will peak around on October 22 at 2:30 am till 6:30 am. At its peak, up to 20 meteors are visible every hour, according to Time and Date website.
- Seventh meteor shower of the year will be the Leonid meteor, which will peak between 5:30 am and 6:30 am on November 18. “The shower is called Leonids because its radiant, or the point in the sky where the meteors seem to emerge from, lies in the constellation Leo,” Time and Date said.
- Eight meteor shower of the year will be the Geminids, which are considered to be one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year. Sky gazers can see around 120 meteors per hour at its peak which will be on December 14 between 2:30 am and 7:30 am.
This astronomical phenomenon occurs whenever the planet passes through the debris which has been left by a comet or asteroid.
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Business NewsScienceQuadrantids meteor shower to welcome 2025: Where and when to watch cosmic wonders in India
First Published:30 Dec 2024, 10:49 PM IST
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