NEW YORK — First of the year Supermoon And meteor shower will be in sync in the January sky, but the light from one may obscure the other.
The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks Friday evening through Saturday morning. according to the American Meteor Society. In dark skies during peak, observers typically see about 25 meteors per hour, but this time they will likely see fewer than 10 meteors per hour due to the light from Saturday's supermoon.
“The biggest enemy of meteor showers is the full moon,” said Mike Shanahan, director of the planetarium at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey.
Meteor showers happen when fast-moving space rocks collide with Earth's atmosphere, burn up, and leave behind fiery tails—the end of a “shooting star.” A few meteors can be seen each night, but predictable showers occur annually as Earth passes through dense streams of space debris.
Supermoons occur when the full moon approaches Earth in its orbit. This makes it appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than the dimmest moon of the year, according to NASA. This difference may be difficult to notice with the naked eye.
The supermoon, like all full moons, is visible in clear skies throughout the night. On the other hand, the Quadrantids can be seen mainly from the Northern Hemisphere. Both can be seen without special equipment.
To spot the Quadrantids, go out in the early evening away from city lights and watch for the fireballs before the moon crashes the party, said Jacques Benitez of the California Academy of Sciences' Morrison Planetarium. Sky lovers can also try watching at sunrise on Sunday.
Wait until your eyes adjust to the darkness and don't look at your phone. Space rocks will appear as fast-moving white dots and appear all over the sky.
Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the fireballs appear to come. The Quadrantids, space debris from asteroid 2003 EH1, are named after a constellation that is no longer known.
The next major meteor shower, called the Lyrids, is scheduled for April.
Supermoons occur several times a year and come in groups, taking advantage of the best position in the Moon's elliptical orbit. Saturday night's event caps off a four-month streak that began in October. There won't be a new supermoon until the end of 2026.
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