Between December 28 and January 12, the Quadrantides meteor shower passes over Sweden. If you look up at the sky around midnight, you have a good chance of seeing the maximum meteor shower.
– It’s very exciting. It is one of the year’s meteor showers that we are in the middle of right now. If the weather is clear, I suggest you put on warm clothes and go out and have a look. Just below the constellation Karlavagnen you can see a lot of small shooting stars, says Marianne Eik, space educator at Curiosum at Umeå University.
How does it work?
– Even though space is huge, the Earth comes into the orbit of another celestial body and collects some debris from this asteroid. That debris, little rocks and stuff, it burns up in our atmosphere and leaves behind a beautiful meteor shower.
The chances of seeing the meteor shower
The peak was during Friday when Marianne Eik believes there were approximately 50 shooting stars per hour. But as it was cloudy in many places it was perhaps difficult to see. This evening and tonight the chances are a bit greater as the weather is clearer.
– Then it can be around 20 per hour. You have to be patient and wait a little. While you wait for them, there are few planets you can look at for that long. Among other things beautiful Venus and the new moon with Saturn right next to it as well as Jupiter and Mars. There is a lot of fun happening in the sky right now, she says.
The quadrant times are something that recurs every year and are best seen around midnight. And right now you can also catch a glimpse of the northern lights.
– There are favorable weather conditions, so you have to take the opportunity to go out and see it. The best chances are in northern Götaland to southern Norrland, says TV4’s meteorologist Ulrika Elvgren.