The Quadrantid Meteors Shower, tonight, could be the best shower of 2008. Under clear dark conditions you might see over 100 meteors per hour. We seem to have a heavy cloud layer over Bowen Island, but perhaps some readers will be lucky enough to have clear skies. The best time will be during the darkest-before-dawn tomorrow morning. For this shower, the time of maximum meteors is brief: less than 12 hours.
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Looks like it will be too cloudy on the Sunshine Coast too!
Happy New Year Robert!
My Daughter was off to College on the 6:30 AM sailing of the ferry this morning. So, we were all up, dark and early, about 5 AM. I did look out. Clouds… no meteors. Last night, before midnight, there were some small gaps in the overcast, but not enough to observe meteors.
We receive the most precipitation in the months of December and January. Point Atkinson averages 270.5 mm in Dec., and 260.6 mm in Jan. There is a dramatic drop in Feb. to 108.2 mm. By April, it is only 46.5 mm. I think these precip figures are a pretty good indication of the amount of cloud cover that must be here. It is my impression that “The Dark Season” ends sometime during February.
BTW, on any clear night you can expect to see an average of 7 meteors per hour… so you don’t have to wait for a shower. But, you do have to be out there and looking up.
All the best for 2008!