Community Corner

Guide to 2014 Meteor Showers: The Quadrantids Peak First

Dates for Quadrantrid meteor shower peak.

ByΒ Todd Richissin

Fireworks will fly in the skies over Connecticut this New Year's night, and they'll have nothing to do with the holiday.

TheΒ Quadrantids, theΒ last meteor shower of 2013 β€” and the first of 2014 β€” began onΒ Dec. 28, with the meteor shower peak set for Jan. 3.Β 

On the East Coast, look up between 2 a.m. and about 5 a.m. TheΒ weather forecast for much of Connecticut is mixedΒ for viewing the Quadrantids: Partly cloudyΒ skies until New Year's Day, then clouds and rain/snowΒ during the peak times.

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NASA's list of 2014 meteor showersΒ says to expect about 80 meteors per hour at the peak, which comes with a new moon setting early β€” meaning a dark sky for the show.

The radiant will be located in the northern tip of theΒ constellation Bootes, meaning only observers living in the northern hemisphere will be able to see this meteor shower in the night sky.Β 

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