January begins with the Quadrantids, one of the year’s quickest and most powerful meteor showers.
According to the American Meteor Society, the shower will peak overnight between January 3 and 4. Northern Hemisphere skywatchers can see the shower best between late Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Meteors are fragments of broken asteroids and comets that spread out in dusty trails around the sun. Every year, Earth passes through the debris trails, and as pieces of dust and rock disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere, they produce colorful, fiery displays known as meteor showers.
Quadrantid showers are notoriously difficult to observe
Because of its brief peak of six hours, the Quadrantid shower is notoriously difficult to observe. According to NASA, the peak has a shorter duration than most meteor showers, which peak over two days, because the shower only has a thin stream of particles, and Earth passes through the densest concentration of those particles quickly at a perpendicular angle.
Predictions for the peak of the shower range from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CST), but meteors will be visible for hours beforehand. For those in North America, the American Meteor Society recommends keeping an eye out for meteors between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. local time.
The earlier time benefits those on North America’s East Coast, while the later time benefits those in Hawaii and Alaska. The Quadrantids are usually not visible in the Southern Hemisphere because the radiant point of the shower does not rise that high in the sky before dawn.
Check Time and Date’s website to see what your chances of seeing the event are.
The maximum rate can be more than 100 visible meteors per hour. According to NASA, you may even see some fireballs during the meteor shower, which are bright blasts of light and color associated with larger particles that linger longer than typical meteor streaks.
Keep an eye on the sky from north to northeast. From 2 a.m. local time on, stand or sit with the moon at your back and observe the skies for at least an hour, according to the American Meteor Society.
Visibility will be affected by any wintry weather in the Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the moon will be approximately 51% full, which may affect the visibility of the shower, but society recommends attempting to block the moon with a tree or building.
If you live in a city, you might want to drive somewhere away from the bright city lights. Meteors may be visible every couple of minutes from late evening until dawn if you can find an area free of light pollution.
If the meteor shower’s name sounds strange, it’s probably because it’s not related to a constellation. That’s because the Quadrantids’ namesake constellation is no longer a recognized constellation.
According to EarthSky, the constellation Quadrans Muralis, which was first observed and noted in 1795 between Boötes and Draco, is no longer included in the International Astronomical Union’s list of modern constellations because it is considered obsolete and is no longer used as a landmark for celestial navigation.
According to EarthSky, astronomers believe a second object, Comet 96P/Machholz, may have contributed to the shower. Every 5.3 years, the comet orbits the sun.
Around 2000 BC, scientists believe the sun gravitationally bound a larger comet into a short orbit. The comet ejected meteors for years before disintegrating between the years 100 and 950. According to EarthSky, the comet left behind a slew of celestial offspring known as the Machholz Complex, which includes the Quadrantid meteor shower’s parent bodies, Comet 96P/Machholz and asteroid 2003 EH1, as well as two different comet groups and eight meteor showers.
Meteor showers of 2024
After the Quadrantids, there is a bit of a lull in meteor shower activity, and the next one won’t occur until April.
Lyrids: April 21-22
Eta Aquariids: May 4-5
Southern Delta Aquariids: July 29-30
Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31
Perseids: August 11-12
Draconids: October 7-8
Orionids: October 20-21
Southern Taurids: November 4-5
Northern Taurids: November 11-12
Leonids: November 17-18
Geminids: December 13-14
Ursids: December 21-22
Full moons and supermoons
Twelve full moons will occur during 2024, and September and October’s lunar events will also be considered supermoons, according to EarthSky.
Definitions of a supermoon can vary, but the term generally denotes a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal and thus appears larger and brighter in the night sky. Some astronomers say the phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 90% of perigee—its closest approach to Earth in orbit.
Each month’s full moon is associated with a specific name, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. But the full moons have a variety of names and meanings, according to different indigenous tribes.
Here are the full moons of 2024:
January 25: Wolf moon
February 24: Snow moon
March 25: Worm moon
April 23: Pink moon
May 23: Flower moon
June 21: Strawberry moon
July 21: Buck moon
August 19: Sturgeon moon
September 17: Harvest moon
October 17: Hunter’s moon
November 15: Beaver moon
December 15: Cold moon
Lunar and solar eclipses
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, multiple eclipses will occur in 2024, including two types of lunar eclipses and two types of solar eclipses.
The total solar eclipse on April 8, which will be visible in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, is the most anticipated of these events. When the moon passes between the earth and the sun, it completely obscures the sun’s face.
A total solar eclipse will be visible to those who are within the path of totality, or locations where the moon’s shadow completely covers the sun. People living outside the path of totality will be able to see a partial solar eclipse, in which the moon obscures only a portion of the sun’s rays.
Meanwhile, many people in Europe, North and East Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, and South America will be able to see a penumbral lunar eclipse between March 24 and 25.
When the sun, Earth, and moon align, the moon passes into Earth’s shadow, causing it to appear dark or dim. A penumbral lunar eclipse is more subtle and occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s outer shadow, or penumbra.
A partial lunar eclipse will occur over Europe and much of Asia, Africa, North America, and South America between September 17 and 18, when the Earth moves between the sun and the full moon but is not perfectly aligned.