Light it up: 2017 skies open up with meteors and a comet
Jan 2, 2017, 6:09 PM
In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, W. Va. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
(Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
2017 opened up with some amazing sights to see.
Look to the northern skies tonight and into early Tuesday morning — around 6:30 a.m. — for one of the most amazing meteor showers of the year.
The Quadrantid meteor shower will put on one of the year’s best shows, if you know just where to look. And if you are lucky and have clear skies, meteors may pour out of the sky, just below the handle of the Big Dipper.
This is one meteor shower that peaks over a few hours and not days! You may still see a few Quadrantid meteors on the next night and morning too.
The Quadrantid shower is named after an obsolete constellation called Quadrans Muralis, a device that measures celestial objects. Meteors from this shower are thought to come from an asteroid, not a comet like most meteor showers.
If that does not get you interested in viewing the sky; we have a small comet that will be visible in binoculars, low in the south western sky after sunset. The comet will require binoculars or a small telescope to view.
To follow the Sky with Dr. Sky, get your January star chart here.
