The Quadrantids meteor shower

The Quadrantids are named for Quadrans Muralis, a constellation that no longer exists; the IAU dropped it in 1922, but the shower kept the name. Their parent, the small asteroid 2003 EH1, is probably the burned-out core of a comet that broke up centuries ago, and the stream is so narrow that the peak lasts only about six hours.

Peak times and moonlight, 2027-2029

Peaks below are computed from the shower's solar longitude, the same way the professional calendars do it, not read off a fixed date. Moonlight makes or breaks a meteor year, so each peak carries its Moon verdict.

Watching the Quadrantids

Timing is everything: catch the six-hour peak on the wrong side of the planet and the show is ordinary. The radiant, between the Big Dipper's handle and the head of Draco, rides highest in the hours before dawn.

How to watch any meteor shower

No instrument beats your own eyes: binoculars and telescopes see too little sky. Get away from direct lights, lie back so you can watch a wide stretch of sky about halfway up, and give your eyes a full 20 minutes to adapt (no phone screens; red light if you need it). Meteors appear all over the sky, not just at the radiant, so face whichever direction is darkest for you.

What the ZHR really promises

Every shower is advertised by its ZHR, the zenithal hourly rate, and every year that number disappoints people who take it literally. The ZHR is a standardized laboratory figure: the rate one experienced observer would count under a perfectly dark sky (limiting magnitude 6.5) with the radiant directly overhead. Real skies are brighter, real radiants sit lower, and real eyes miss meteors.

A workable rule: from a genuinely dark rural sky with the radiant high, expect to see about half the ZHR. From a typical suburb, a quarter or less. That said, a single brilliant fireball can outweigh an hour of counting, and the showers on this page all earn their reputations in a dark sky.

Frequently asked questions

When do the Quadrantids peak in 2027?

The computed peak comes on January 4, 2027 at 03:29 UTC, with the shower active from about Dec 29 to Jan 13. Meteor peaks are broad enough that the nights on either side are usually worth watching too, though this shower's sharp peak rewards catching the night itself.

How many meteors will I actually see?

The headline ZHR of 80 (recent returns, historically up to 120) is a standardized ideal, not a forecast. Under a truly dark sky with the radiant high, expect roughly half that; from a bright suburb, a quarter or less. Moonlight matters as much as anything: in 2027 the Moon is 12% lit at the peak (dark skies).

Where should I look to see the Quadrantids?

Everywhere: meteors streak across the whole sky. The radiant, the point their paths trace back to, lies in Bootes, but staring at it shows you the shortest trails. Watch a wide area of dark sky about halfway up, in whatever direction is darkest from your site.

What causes the Quadrantids?

Debris from asteroid 2003 EH1, likely an extinct comet. Each January, Earth crosses the stream of particles this body has shed along its orbit; they hit the atmosphere at 41 kilometers per second and burn up as the streaks we see.

Keep exploring: all 13 major showers ranked for the year ahead, how meteor showers work from first principles, and the Sky Map, which draws every active radiant on tonight's sky.