The Quadrantids, like the meteors of many other annual showers, are best seen after midnight because they encounter the Earth head-on. Here is the scene as they come into view over the northeastern horizon.
Another from the set of four illustrations on page 133 of Astronomical Calendar 2026 shows how this stream of particles descends across the January part of Earth’s orbit.
This year there is a somewhat narrow window for seeing this abundant shower because the Moon is shining brightly among the stars of Gemini.
__________
This weblog maintains its right to be about astronomy or anything under the sun.
ILLUSTRATIONS in these posts are made with precision but have to be inserted in another format. You may be able to enlarge them on your monitor.
One way: right-click, and choose ”View image” or ”Open image in new tab”, then enlarge. Or choose ”Copy image”, then put it on your desktop, then open it. On an iPad or phone, use the finger gesture that enlarges (spreading with two fingers, or tapping and dragging with three fingers). Other methods have been suggested, such as dragging the image to the desktop and opening it in other ways.
Sometimes I make improvements or corrections to a post after publishing it. If you click on the title, rather than on ‘Read more’, I think you are sure to see the latest version. Or, if you click ‘Refresh’ or press function key 5, you’ll see the latest version.