The 1st and one of the best meteor showers of 2023 happens in SC soon. Here’s when and how to watch

South Carolina residents will soon be privy to a dazzling light show to welcome in 2023 that doesn’t involve fireworks.

The Quadrantids, generally considered to be one of the best annual meteor showers, peak in early January over the northern hemisphere, according to NASA.

This specific meteor shower has been underway for weeks. However, the meteor shower will peak the night of Tuesday-Wednesday, the time when people will have the best chance to see a great display.

Unlike many other meteor showers, which have peaks that can last a couple of days, the Quadrantids peak only lasts about 6 hours.

“The reason the peak is so short is due to the shower’s thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle,” the NASA website states.

Still, viewers can get a lot of bang during those few hours. Under perfect conditions, between 60 and 200 Quadrantid meteors can be seen per hour during the peak.

Quadrantids are also known for their bright fireball meteors, which are larger explosions of light and color that can last longer than an average meteor streak. Quadrantids tend to have larger particles than other meteors, which account for the fireballs.

When to watch

A bright, nearly full moon will shine during the peak. Try watching during late night Tuesday to dawn Wednesday under the moonlight. Viewers can also try the hour or so of true darkness, after moonset, shortly before dawn on Wednesday.

How to watch

Find an area away from the city or street lights. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing northeast and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.

In less than 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors.

Where do meteors come from?

Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids.

According to skyandtelescope.org, the parent of the Quadrantids is a small object, “designated 2003 EH1 for its discovery year (now it’s also known as asteroid 196256).”

The object orbits the sun every 5.5 years between the orbits of Earth and Jupiter. Peter Jenniskens, a meteor specialist, discovered in 2004 that this body is responsible for the Quadrantids, the website states.