Science : Here they are ! The Quadrantids !

 

                                                  credits: FreePik

Whether you’re an astronomy enthusiast or simply looking for a peaceful night of stargazing, the Quadrantids Meteor Shower is an event that promises to captivate and inspire. 

This yearly occasion presents the ideal chance to engage with the wonders of the night sky and experience a cosmic sight that is both quick and majestic.

Stargazers can ring in the beginning of 2025 by witnessing the first meteor shower of the year.

The Quadrantids, one of the "strongest" displays of the year, are expected to peak Thursday night through early Friday morning, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).

                    A view of stargazing as Quadrantids meteor showers peak,                   at Pigeon Point Light Station in Pescadero, Calif., Jan. 4, 2024.                             credits: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

                                                    via ABC

For the first astronomy event you can see this year, there’s a meteor shower to look for. The Quadrantids, the first meteor shower of the year, is expected to peak in the morning of January 3rd.

That morning, look for a maximum of 80 meteors per hour radiating from a point in the northern sky. It’s important to note that the Quadrantids, while an active shower, may see maximum activity for only a few hours on the peak night – or in this year’s case, morning.

For many years, the origin of the Quadrantids remained unknown. Though the Quadrantids were first seen in 1825, it wasn't until 2003 that an astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, Petrus Jenniskens discovered a small asteroid, 2003 EH1, was the source of the shower.

via Google Images Archive

Here are some general viewing tips from NASA :

◾ Find an area well away from street lights and the light pollution of cities.

◾ Come prepared for winter temperatures with a sleeping bag, blanket, or lawn chair.

◾ Lie flat on your back with your feet facing northeast and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.

It should take less than 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt so that you can see streaking meteors.

via The Universe Space Tech

Education:

This time of the year, some teachers and students are not yet starting school after Christmas season.

However, once again, science curriculum will be enhanced with the help of the awesome event in the sky. The Quadrantids!

Do you want a better science lesson ? A live lesson of science. Wow!

The winter, cold temperatures contribute in making this shower neglected by the public, while it offer bright, very enjoyable meteors. 

Most of us are excited about the Quadrantid shower, specially if you teach sciences or you are science students. Of course, stargazers as well. 

My usual readers know I don't teach sciences. I'm a Humanities person and former teacher of Humanities. But I'm a passionate of science and all the high technology near science.

Do you remember the Wow! The Geminids shower 2022. Kids, let's go ! Time to watch to the sky ! Just awesome! A sky full of stars. 

This time, the European teachers and students are not in school. Only next week. 

But the Quadrantids 2025 will be a good natural resource from the sky to enhance the first day of Science lesson! 

credits: Lamberto Sassoli

Wow! Even on the first day of school time after the Christmas holidays. Our students will be happy with this new event.

The winter, cold temperatures contribute in making this shower neglected by the public, while it offer bright, very enjoyable meteors. 

Most of us are excited about the Quadrantid shower, specially if you teach sciences or are science students. Of course, stargazers as well. 

My usual readers know I don't teach sciences, but humanities. But I'm a passionate of science and all the high technology near science.

Do you remember another event Hello Science ! Here come the Perseid meteor shower ! Look up the sky ! Just another awesome event with the sky full of stars. 

This time, the European teachers and students are out of school as i said. But prepare a one or two good natural lessons to talk and show some videos to enhance the first day of Sciences lesson! The Quadrantids 2025.

Who knows if you will have some stargazers in your class that will be happy to talk about their experience and show your and classmates a video or two made with their smartphones?

Resources:

video NASA : What's up for January ?

 

Some useful links :

NASA

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/quadrantids/

Space.com

https://www.space.com/39469-best-meteor-showers.html

EarthSky

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-quadrantid-meteor-shower/

The Quadrantids 2022

https://gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com/2022/01/science-lets-watch-2022-quadrantid.html

The Quadrantids 2016

https://gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com/2016/01/science-education-catch-some-falling.html

Here you have all the resources a beautiful lesson of science course to start 2025! 

But! Firs of all, don’t miss this rare opportunity to connect with the wonders of the universe!

G-Souto

03.01.2025

Copyright © 2025G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Science : Here they are ! The Quadrantids ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sources: NASA/ Space.com

Here comes the Perseid Meteor Shower 2024 ! You Can’t Miss It !

The 2024 Perseids meteor shower is about to peak.

credit: Gettty

Seeing some shooting stars with the Perseid meteor shower, the most stunning night sky event of the summer.

Caused by Earth passing through trails of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the shower has become famous over the centuries because of its consistent display of celestial fireworks.

This year, the Perseid maximum will occur on the night of Aug. 11 and pre-dawn hours of Aug. 12. You’ll start seeing meteors from the shower around 11 p.m. local time and the rates will increase until dawn. 

If you miss the night of the 11th, you will also be able to see quite a few on the night of the 12th between those times.

credit: NASA

So, get ready for the 2024 Perseid Meteor Shower, the most stunning night sky event of the summer! This episode dives into when and where to watch, offers tips for capturing breathtaking photos, and explains why this year’s shower will be unforgettable.

August sees the return to the northern hemisphere of properly dark night skies. With it getting darker earlier, stargazing gets easier. It’s great cosmic timing because along with convenience comes a conjunction of Mars and Jupiter, the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower and much more.

Around the peak mornings, if you trace all the Perseid meteors backward, they seem to come from the constellation Perseus near the famous Double Cluster. Hence, the meteor shower is named in honor of the constellation Perseus the Hero.

Here’s everything you need to know about stargazing, moon-watching and the night sky in August 2024:

Don’t forget to watch, and share your meteor moments. Join with friends for a night of cosmic wonder and make a wish upon a shooting star!

• Education: 

Please read my publication Hello Science ! Here come the Perseid meteor shower ! Look up the sky ! And all my different publications along the years. You will find different resources and some activities.

Viewing the Perseid meteor shower is a straightforward yet magical experience.

G-Souto

11.08.2024

Copyright © 2024G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Here comes the Perseid Meteor Shower 2024 ! You Can't Miss IT ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Sources: NASA/ EarthSky

Hello Science ! Here come the Perseids meteor shower ! Look up the sky !

 

The Perseids shower

credits:  Lowell Observator

https://lowell.edu/

The Perseid meteor shower (also known as the Perseids) greets stargazers every year from mid-July to late August. This year the shower will peak between Aug 11-12, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS)

(opens in new tab)

The 2022 Perseids won’t be quite as spectacular as they were in 2021, due to the full moon illuminating the sky. See the Moon posing with various planets throughout the month, plus catch the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

The annual Perseid meteor shower will peak August 12 and 13.

Last year, the moon was just a thin crescent and didn't obscure the view of the meteor shower too badly, but the moon's glow is a continuing concern for skywatchers looking for a clear view. Even though the Perseids are especially bright, moonlight can make viewing a bit tricky. This year, the peak of the Perseids will be affected by the full moon illuminating the sky. 

Most of the Perseids are tiny, about the size of a sand grain. Almost none of the fragments hit the ground, but if one does, it's called a meteorite. This beloved, annual sky spectacle is caused by the comet Swift-Tuttle.

credits: Future

via Space.com

Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by Earth; its nucleus is about 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed near Earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992, and the next time will be in 2126. 

When you sit back to watch a meteor shower, you're actually seeing the pieces of comet debris heat up as they enter the atmosphere and burn up in a bright burst of light, streaking a vivid path across the sky as they travel at 37 miles (59 kilometers) per second, according to NASA.

The Perseids generally appear to radiate from a point high in the north, called the "radiant." But you need only point yourself generally toward the north and look up.

And while we're talking meteors, did you know many of these "shooting stars" come from comets? Most of the annual meteor showers we observe take place as Earth passes through trails of debris left behind by active comets orbiting the Sun, casting off little bits of dusty debris in their long tails. 

Comet Swift-Tuttle

credits: Jim Scotti, University of Arizona

via Space.com

• Some information:

The Perseid meteors come from a comet called Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the Sun every 133 years. This is also the reason for the formation of the annual Perseid meteor shower on Earth.

Every year from mid-July to late August, observers are able to admire burning cometary debris all over the sky. This year, the peak comes from the evening of August 12 until the morning of the 13th. The moon will enter a phase of the crescent, eliminating additional lighting. The sky will be perfectly dark for viewing the meteor shower.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich in London said: “As the bits of rock and dust in the stream of debris collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up and create fiery streaks across the sky.”

Education:

A veritable ritual for summer stargazers, the Perseids are considered one of nature's best fireworks shows, with dozens of shooting stars an hour falling at peak times. 

• How to see?

You can see the Perseids meteor shower best in the Northern Hemisphere and down to the mid-southern latitudes, and all you need to catch the show is darkness, somewhere comfortable to sit and a bit of patience.

To find the Perseids meteor shower, it's a good idea to look for the point in the sky where they appear to originate from, this is known as the radiant. According to NASA, the Perseids' radiant is in the Perseus Constellation. Though Perseus isn't the easiest to find, it conveniently follows the brighter and more distinctive constellation Cassiopeia across the night sky. The meteor shower gets its name from the constellation it radiates from, the constellation is not the source of the meteors.

Perseids shower

credits: Dneutral Han/ Getty Images

This is probably not the best year to make a special trip in order to see the Perseids, but, if you find yourself outside between midnight and dawn on Aug. 13, don’t forget to look up anyway.  

Why? Because you never know – you might just catch one of the bright Perseid meteors that defies the glare of the Moon. Also, the occasional early Perseid can streak across the sky as much as a week beforehand.

The mornings of August 11 and 13 are worth trying, too. The morning of August 13 will present a thinner and less bright moon than on the previous dates … and also more hours of dark sky for meteor watching. So moonrise is a key factor for watching 2020’s Perseid meteor shower. 

credits: unknown

via Google Images Archive

As the full Moon subsides, the Perseids will begin to wane Aug. 21-22 and cease completely by Sept. 1. They’re the debris remnants of Comet Swift-Tuttle, a lumbering “snowball” composed of ice, rock, and dust, which orbits our Sun every 133 years. The comet itself was last visible to us in 1992 and won’t pass our way again until 2125.

How dark must be? Meteor-hunting toolbox:

To best see the Perseids, go to the darkest possible location and lean back and relax. You don't need any telescopes or binoculars as the secret is to take in as much sky as possible and allow about 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark.

credits: Future

via Space.com

Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars to find out when the moon rises in your sky, remembering to check the moonrise and moonset box.

Also, keep in mind that the Perseids tend to be bright. So we expect a number of them to overcome the moonlit glare over the next several mornings. Will you see as many as 40 to 50 meteors per hour in the predawn hours? Maybe!

Perseids meteor

credits; Getty Images

Resources:

• Video: 

• Links: 

NASA: Perseids Peak: Watch Best Meteor Shower of the Year!https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2023/08/07/best-meteor-shower-of-the-year-peaks-this-weekend/

EarthSky: Perseid meteor shower 2023: All you need to knowhttps://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-perseid-meteor-shower/

ESA/ Space for Kids : Here come the Perseids

https://www.esa.int/kids/en/learn/Our_Universe/Comets_and_meteors/Here_come_the_Perseids4

Perseids meteor shower 2022: When, where and how to see it

https://www.space.com/32868-perseid-meteor-shower-guide.html#section-additional-resources

Hope you will enjoy, as a sky watcher, admiring the beauty of this annual awesome event.

Happy  viewing!

G-Souto

12.08.2022

update 11.08.2026

Copyright © 2022G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Hello Science : Here come the Perseids meteor shower : Look up to the sky ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.