The Quadrantid meteor shower heralds the start of 2025's meteor activity.
It's active from 28 December to 12 January, with low activity over most of this period.
The Quadrantid shower swings into high activity over a period of just a few hours, in 2025 year centred on 16:00 UT on 3 January.
It can produce a maximum zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of around 120 meteors per hour.
How to see the Quadrantids
The shower radiant – that’s the point in the sky from which the shower meteors appear to emanate – will be very low around 16:00 UT on 3 January, so a watch through the whole night is recommended for the best views, the radiant gaining altitude as you go towards dawn.
The shower gets its name from the now-defunct constellation of Quadrans Muralis, the Mural Quadrant.
Quadrans Muralis is no longer recognised as one of the 88 official constellations. It is now one of many other forgotten constellations.
The radiant position is located in northern Boötes bounded by Ursa Major, Draco and Hercules
Visualise its position by extending the straight portion of the Plough’s handle through Megrez–Alioth–Mizar (Delta (δ)–Epsilon (ε)–Zeta (ζ) Ursae Majoris) for 1.5x that distance again.
Tips for observing
The cold, post-holiday season period can be uninviting, but it’s worth being tenacious, putting the thermals on and braving the cold, because this is a very decent shower to observe.
A sunlounger is the best platform to use, but do wrap up warm and plan several breaks.
As ever, make sure you’re in as dark an area as possible and give your eyes at least 20 minutes in total darkness before starting.
Looking in any direction will do, but meteor wisdom suggests looking at an altitude two-thirds up the sky where the atmosphere is sufficiently thin to not block too much light from meteor trails, but thick enough to provide enough atmosphere for meteors to appear within.
How many meteors will we see?
The Quadrantid shower has a high peak zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of 120 meteors per hour.
This figure is how many meteors you could expect to see under perfect conditions, something which is never really met, so the number of meteors you will actually observe will be significantly lower than the ZHR figure but is still respectable.
Obviously, a watch at this time of year runs the risk of being exposed to very cold conditions and it’s advisable to wrap up warmly and opt to observe for defined periods no longer than 30–60 minutes in length, taking a short break between watches to warm up.
How to see a Quadrantid meteor
Meteor observing doesn't require any telescopes or fancy equipment. All you need is your naked eye and, preferably, some good company.
Find a dark unobstructed observing site and plan to observe in periods no shorter than 30 minutes.
A garden recliner makes a great observing platform, but don’t forget to wrap up warm!
It may take about 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the darkness, but after a while you should start to see more stars and, hopefully, some meteors shooting across the sky.
Avoid using lights such as torches and mobile phones as this will spoil your adapted night vision.
If you really need to, use a red torch or turn your phone's screen red in the settings.
Use a star chart or stargazing app to find Draco, Boötes, Ursa Major and Hercules.
Look around this region of the sky and, if you happen to see a meteor shooting away from it during the shower's activity period, chances are you've just seen a Quadrantid.
This guide originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
