The Quadrantids meteors should start to appear late tonight, but will only be visible for about six hours. The peak is predicted to be somewhere around 2:30 to 3 a.m., though io9 reports that the Quadrantids meteors are “notoriously unpredictable” in terms of intensity. NASA says it will be a “brief, beautiful” show.
The best place to view the meteors live is the East Coast of North America, since the Quadrantids is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere and it happens to be the middle of the night in that region when they’re due to hit. Sky & Telescope says you should be able to see about one or two meteors per minute at peak intensity. NASA has a tool, called the Fluxtimator, that can estimate the ideal time to watch in your area.
But what if you live in Australia? Or a passing cloud ruins your view? Or you just don’t want to go outside at 3 a.m. in sub-freezing temperatures? The Web has you covered.
NASA has set up a live video feed, via Ustream, at the organization’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL:
Besides the live stream, you can follow the shower via social media. On Twitter, NASA’s Marshall Center (@NASA_Marshall) is posting live updates, and you can also search for the hashtag #MeteorWatch to find like-minded stargazers. There’s also Virtual Astronomer (@virtualastro) for retweets from amateur astronomers.
The Marshall Center is also on Facebook, which is probably the best place to comment. And be sure to keep an eye on the recent uploads of Quadrantids on Flickr to see some great photos of the show.
Feel like skipping this one? You can see a list of the big star-gazing events of 2012 at Space.com, and Sky & Telescope gives its take on which ones will be worth checking out.
Are you watching the Quadrantids meteors tonight? Post links to any photos and videos you take in the comments.
Source : Mashable.com
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