Comments on: Quadrantid Meteor Shower Will Sparkle on January 3rd

By: Naruto

Naruto — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:40:07 +0000

What about northern OH? I'm just dying to see it.

By: Bethany

Bethany — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:27:16 +0000

I forgot the day and had the 7th in my head. But I still plan to go out either tonight or tmw night and see what can be seen. I don't know what the cloud cover will be like but I know that here in Ohio we are having abnormally warm weather for Jan. I'll let you know what I find in the next couple days.

By: Ken Biegen

Ken Biegen — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 21:46:00 +0000

The quadrantids were a total disappointment in 2008, despite there being perfect conditions, with totally clear skies

I live on Long Island in New York. I was on the ocean side of Fire Island from 9:20 p.m. on Thursday January 3rd until 3:50 a.m. on Friday, January 4th. I saw only 1 possible meteorite during this time period. There was so much hype about this being potentially the best meteor shower of the year. It was a total bust from my viewpoint. Did anyone else on Long island have the same or different experience than me?

Ken Biegen
Dix Hills, New York

By: Tammy Plotner

Tammy Plotner — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 21:38:55 +0000

Wooo hooo!! The Quadrantids were a great success here in Ohio! I was afraid the skies weren't going to clear, but a 3:00 a.m. the temperature had dropped to nearly single digits and the wind drove the clouds away.

In a period of 3.5 hours I counted over 100 meteors. Not bad considering I couldn't stand the cold longer than 30 minutes at a time. What I noticed most in my area was the activity seemed to come in "flurries" rather than a steady pace. About once every half hour for a period of about 15 minutes, the activity would really step up. Anywhere from 15-20 would occur virtually within seconds of each other. Evidence of concentrations in the stream? Jupiter's gravity attracting certain areas to leave voids?

My second observation was the diverse magnitudes, apparent speed and trail lengths. Some of them were extremely bright, around +2 magnitude and leave wide trails that covered between 40 to 50 degrees of sky. Oddly enough… these were also what appeared to be the slower meteors and they happened less frequently. The majority of the meteors were very fast, perhaps magnitude 3 and didn't leave a trail of more than 5 degrees. While they were true to the radiant, they were also closer to the horizon than the zenith. Is it possible this diverse nature speaks of different sizes of meteoroids and different chemical compositions?

I have yet to go over all my FM radio recordings of the meteor scatter, but just a brief clip or two proved to be very successful as well. Let's hope our flying scientists also had great success and share their reports!

Keep looking up… Random activity will occur for several days yet. The best time for viewers anywhere is around 2-3 a.m. local time until dawn… and if you can see the radiant point (roughly around Arcturus) you can also see the meteor shower.

Good luck!

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:41:48 +0000

Yes, Larry

By: larry

larry — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:56:18 +0000

Saw a bright streak heading from east to west about 6 AM in Indiana on 1/4/2007. Was this one of the quadrantid meteors?

By: larry

larry — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:54:50 +0000

Saw a bright streak heading from east to west about 6 AM in Indiana on 1/4/2007. Was this one of the quadrantid meteors?

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:35:55 +0000

I stood awake up to 3:45AM and I see a lot of stars in the sky. I managed to see 4 shooting stars. It was so cold and I lay down to see the the 4th one. It was beautiful. It's worth sitting out in the cold.

By: Jana

Jana — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:40:13 +0000

In Orlando, saw one about 5 minutes ago before the clouds rolled over. It was directly overhead with a tail… Definitely worth sitting in the cold!

By: john

john — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:10:27 +0000

4:10 am eastern and i got nothing still

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:57:29 +0000

EST

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:57:02 +0000

@3:55AM

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:56:26 +0000

ZIP, ZERO…NOTHING…!

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:34:32 +0000

The peak of the shower is spose to be around 4-5am.. I'm gonna catch some Zz's until then

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:25:28 +0000

15 degrees here, not exactly codusive to star gazing…. Brrrrrr..!

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:13:03 +0000

Ah, thanks

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:11:18 +0000

Jay, they say look north east…

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:09:36 +0000

I've only seen one @ about 10:30pm 1/3/08
Eastern New York

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:07:40 +0000

Searched all over honestly…

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:06:47 +0000

Look up….! Florida…

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:00:09 +0000

Im in central florida… Where should I be looking? Anyone have a time estimate?

By: tiffanie

tiffanie — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:04:03 +0000

Just wondering what are the best times for lower alabama?hoping to make it out to see, but it would be helpful if I knew the best time?

By: Aaryka, Florida

Aaryka, Florida — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 04:35:25 +0000

(Tampa/St. Pete Florida… )
Its now 11:33pm. I have been sittin outside and still have not seen anything yet..

Not quite sure in what direction I am suppose to be looking, so I am layin flat in view of the whole sky with no lights around

I am gonna do some more research then go back out there

By: SHARRON & ALEXANDER

SHARRON & ALEXANDER — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:02:27 +0000

MY SON (ALEXANDER) SAW SOME THIS MORNING AS HE WAS HEADING OUT FOR SCHOOL.
ROCHESTER, NY

By: Science Etcetera Jupiterday, 20080102 « ideonexus

Science Etcetera Jupiterday, 20080102 « ideonexus — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:09:36 +0000

[...] Science Etcetera Jupiterday, 20080102 January 3, 2008 Take a moment to look up in the sky tonight for the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the Quadrantid Meteor [...]