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The Quadrantids, one of the most spectacular showers of shooting stars, according to NASA, peaked on the night of January 2-3 and is the first notable astronomical event of 2021. On the other hand, today, January 2, 2021, the Earth will be in the shortest distance from the sun.
Meteorites (the scientific name for shooting stars) occur all the time. The most famous “falling star shower” is the Perseids in August, but these types of phenomena exist in other months.
The Quadrantids are a meteor shower that has a radiant in the constellation of Bootes, near Carul Mare. Peak current is expected on January 3. Is one of the strongest meteor streams, producing, during the maximum, between 100 and 140 meteors per hour, shows the Astronomical Observatory “Vasile Urseanu” in Bucharest. Its speed will be 41 km / s.
Only the Geminids, in December, exceed that frequency. Then, during the maximum, an average of 150 meteors are generated per hour.
How to observe the meteor shower
In addition to the quality of being spectacular, shooting stars have a plus: they can be seen with the naked eye and no astronomical instruments are needed to observe them.
For Quadrantide, however, you need a bit of patience, thick clothing, and clear skies. The meteors in this stream are quite dim in brightness, and a clear, lightless sky is needed to observe them. You have to look at the sky and wait 15 minutes for the eye to adjust to the dark.
The darker the place you are looking from, that is, there are no lights around (preferably outside cities), the more meteors you will see. If the Moon is not in the sky either, you can observe the weather under ideal conditions.
What is the difference between meteorites and meteorites?
In the solar system there are remains of the formation of planets, of various sizes. The largest pieces are called asteroids and comets, and the largest (from huge rocks to very fine dust) are called meteoroids. This whole thing is in the space between the planets.
Sometimes our planet passes through these meteor-rich regions. Thus, for a few hours, thousands and thousands of such objects will enter the atmosphere. So we have the call meteor shower.
meteoroids it enters the atmosphere with a speed of between 15 and 65 km / s. For comparison, the fastest gun fires a bullet with a speed of 1.5 km / s.
When meteorites enter the atmosphere at this enormous speed, the air surrounding them and also ignite due to friction with the air. The air around them is heated to a temperature of several thousand degrees. Therefore, we see a a bright streak in the sky, called meteorite.
Meteoroids get so hot that they break up in the atmosphere. Sometimes they even explode, producing a strong light, called car.
Very rarely, the meteoroid does not burn completely in the atmosphere and part of it falls to earth. This is a meteorite.
Sometimes when multiple meteors are seen they appear to come from a single region of the sky. The perspective effect, the same one that makes train tracks appear to meet in the distance, makes meteors in a stream appear to come from the same region of the sky. This region is called radiant.
When is the next meteor shower?
The strongest storms occur in April, August, November, and December. February and March are not very good for observing meteorites, because they are not rich currents.
If you miss the Quadrantids tonight, only in the spring will you get a chance to see a shower of shooting stars. Meteor stream Lyride it has its maximum between April 20 and 22. Then about 20 meteors per hour can be seen, coming from the constellation Lyra, near the bright star Vega. Sometimes the Lyrids produce surprises, with eruptions of up to 100 meteors per hour.
The earth, at the least distance from the sun.
Also today, January 2, 2021, the Earth is at the smallest distance from the Sun, that is, at periheliu. It will happen at 15:51, when Tera will be “only” 147,093,166 km from the Sun.
In January we have summer in the southern hemisphere and winter in the north, a proof that the seasons are not related to the distance from our planet to the Sun, the reason is the inclination of the Earth’s axis.
At the North Pole we are in the middle of a continuous night, lasting 179 days. The next sunrise at the North Pole will occur on March 21, 2021. At the same time, the Sun will set at the South Pole.
The name of January comes from the Roman god Janus, the god of doors and gates. It had two faces, facing each other in opposite directions. This month did not always exist in the calendar, being introduced in 700 BC by Numa Pompilius. Before that, the year started in March and was only 10 months old (there was no January and February).
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
