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Meteor Showers 2012

January 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on Meteor Showers 2012 

Meteor Showers 2012Meteor Showers 2012, If you want to see a dazzling work of firework from the sky head out of your house tonight. But beware, you need to be prepared to face windy weather that is very cold out there, so be dressed in warm clothes and be prepared to spend at least a couple of hours to have the best views.

If you are lucky, and weather permitting, you can watch as many as 200-300 meteors falling from the sky today. The new year shouldn’t have begun on a better note.

The year 2012 is going to begin with an impressive meteor shower for those ready to brave a cold night and venture outside the warm confines of their homes. The Quadrantids take place at this time of the year. The fact that the Moon is not at its peak, so with a rather dark sky, we are going to get a great view of the meteors.

A National Geographic report while talking about the genesis of Quadrantids meteor showers says, “Like other meteor showers, the Quadrantids (pronounced Kwa-drun-tids) get their name from the constellation from which the meteors appear to radiate. Dubbed Quadrans Muralis in the 19th century, this shower’s namesake pattern of stars isn’t found in any map of the heavens today. Overcrowded star charts forced the removal of the constellation in 1922”.

If you really want to watch the meteor showers I would advise you to go far away from the cities, where city lights don’t allow the meteors to be visible fully in the sky. Once dark adapted, the winter sky shimmers and Quadrantids are readily visible. In dark skies outside of cities you can expect up to 2 meteors per minute, but in the City I am happy to see 1 meteor every few minutes. This year should be as good a show as any.

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