Quadrantids Quadrantids The Quadrantids (QUA) are a January meteor shower. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of this shower can be as high as that of two other reliably rich meteor showers, the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December, yet Quadrantid meteors are not seen as often as meteors in these other two showers, because the peak intensity is exceedingly sharp, sometimes lasting only hours. Additionally, the meteors are quite faint (mean magnitude 3-6 mag). The meteor rates exceed one-half of their highest value for only about eight hours (compared to two days for the August Perseids), which means that
Eta Aquariids to be a source of meteoric activity. Although this shower is not as spectacular as the Leonids may be and well below the rates of the Perseids or the Geminids, it is not an ordinary event. The Eta Aquariids get their name because their radiant appears to lie in the constellation Aquarius, near one of the constellation's brightest stars, Eta Aquarii. The shower peaks at about a rate of around a meteor per minute, although such rates are rarely seen from northern latitudes due to the low altitude of the radiant. The Eta Aquariids are best viewed in the pre-dawn