Explanation:
Named for a forgotten constellation, the
Quadrantid Meteor Shower
is an annual event for planet Earth's
northern hemisphere skygazers.
It usually peaks briefly in the cold, early morning hours of January 4.
The shower's radiant point on the sky
lies within the old, astronomically obsolete constellation
Quadrans
Muralis.
That position is situated near the boundaries of the modern
constellations Hercules, Bootes, and Draco.
Many of this year's Quadrantid meteors were dim, but the one captured
in this north-looking view is bright and easy to spot.
In the foreground is the Maurice River's East Point Lighthouse
located near the southern tip of New Jersey on the US east coast.
The likely source of the dust stream that produces
Quadrantid meteors was identified
in 2003
as an asteroid.
