The annual Quadrantids meteor shower peaked on Saturday night, lighting up the sky with up to 80 meteors per hour in 2015's first meteor display.
While the nearly full moon that night drowned out all but the most vivid meteors of what is usually one of the brightest and most intense celestial displays of the year, skywatching enthusiasts still managed to capture some shots of the shooting stars raining down.
Nice fireball this morning over Midlands (not Quadrantid). Captured by Clanfield, Basingstoke and Wilcot stations. pic.twitter.com/KPU7ZF4r0q— UK Meteor Network (@UKMeteorNetwork) January 4, 2015
#Quadrantids #QuadrantidMeteorShower Cloud limited numbers. Some nice spectra tho' pic.twitter.com/QTHGm6FFHj— Bill Ward (@meteorbill) January 4, 2015
#QuadrantidMeteorShower #Quadrantids pic.twitter.com/LgjKqFsmLT— Bill Ward (@meteorbill) January 4, 2015
@barrabest tonight's Quadrantids “@UKMeteorNetwork: We got a few #Quadrantids already here pic.twitter.com/V3Xfhm4Cd3”— Mark Young (@MarkYoung23) January 4, 2014
The spectacle of the Quadrantids typically rivals that of the Perseids in August or the Geminids in December, but its short-lived peak period means stargazers have only a few hours to catch the cosmic light show, according to NASA.
The shower's span of activity started Dec. 28 and is expected to last until Jan. 12. Those in the northern hemisphere have the best vantage point for observation.
The shower is known for its brilliant fireball meteors, which are brighter and longer-lasting than other meteor streaks, NASA says. These fireballs originate from larger particles of interplanetary debris than other meteors.
Like other showers, the Quadrantids are named for the point of origin from which the meteors appear to radiate. The Quadrantids are named for a now-defunct constellation called the Quadrans Muralis, which was absorbed into the Boötes constellation in 1922.
Though the overwhelming moonlight made this year's Quadrantids display somewhat of a bust, Space.com expects that the waning moon set to coincide with next year's shower will make for an exceptional show in 2016.