AstronomyPicture of the Day—20190111

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2019 January 11

Quadrantids

ImageCredit & Copyright: Daniel López (El Cielo de Canarias)

Explanation:Named for a forgotten constellation, the Quadrantid Meteor Shower is an annualevent for planet Earth's northern hemisphere skygazers It usually peaks brieflyin the cold, early morning hours of January 4. The shower's radiant on the skylies within the old, astronomically obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis.That position is situated near the boundaries of the modern constellationsHercules, Bootes, and Draco. About 30 Quadrantid meteors can be counted in thisskyscape composed of digital frames recorded in dark and moonless skies between2:30am and local dawn. The shower's radiant is rising just to the right of theCanary Island of Tenerife's Teide volcano, and just below the familiar stars ofthe Big Dipper on the northern sky. A likely source of the dust stream thatproduces Quadrantid meteors was identified in 2003 as an asteroid. Look carefullyand you can also spot a small, telltale greenish coma above the volcanic peakand near the top of the frame. That's the 2018 Christmas visitor to planetEarth's skies, Comet Wirtanen.