Quadrantid Meteor Shower Peak (Quadrantids)

The Quadrantids (QUA) are a January meteor shower. The Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of this shower can be as high as that of two other reliably rich meteor showers, the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December. Yet Quadrantid meteors are not seen as often as meteors in these other two showers, because the peak intensity is exceedingly sharp, sometimes lasting only hours.

The meteor rates exceed one-half of their highest value for only about 8 hours (compared to two days for the August Perseids). This means that the stream of particles that produces this shower is narrow, and apparently deriving within the last 500 years from some orbiting body.

Meteor shower peak activity: January 3-4