Every year, approximately 30 meteor showers occur that are actually visible to us here on Earth. In fact, some of these occurrences have been around for more than a century. According to NASA, a meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid.
Every shower has their own unique active periods in Singapore, and the up and coming Quadrantids Meteor Shower is slated to reach its peak between the night of 4 and 5 Jan 2020 – it will be visible in Singapore prominently between 4 – 7 am on Sunday, 5 January.
The parent body responsible for creating this shower has been identified as asteroid 2003 EH1. And of course, seeing how there’s a website for just about everything, there’s one which charts meteor shower activity for us, which you can view here.
It even has a live feed of the altitude, direction and visibility of the shower—perfect for hopefuls waiting on the phenomenon. Supposedly, there is no need for any fancy equipment to view the meteor shower, all you need are clear, dark skies. I did a little more research, and what I found might come in handy for you meteor-watchers. Specifically for the Quadrantids, it’s are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere, and also at latitudes north of 51 degrees south, over the spread of night and predawn hours. Luckily for us, Singapore lies one and a half degrees North of the Equator, so we’re essentially in the Northern Hemisphere.
Minimal light pollution is the most ideal setting for viewing, so that sets us Singaporeans back quite a bit, seeing how our city is nothing but lit (literally and figuratively speaking). But, in less than 30 minutes in the dark, our human eyes will supposedly adapt to the low-light conditions, allowing us to see the meteors. Patience is key too—we all know that good things come to those who wait. But, fret not, you’ll have plenty of time until dawn to catch glimpses of the shower.
Out of the many probable viewing spots across the island, many have narrowed down the best places (either for their strategic locations, high vantage points, or lack of light) to view the shower as follows:
- Pulau Ubin
- Sungei Buloh
- Mount Faber
- Tampines Eco Green
Is this going to be another case of the Solar Eclipse where every other Singaporean zooms down at light speed to catch the phenomenon? We hope so, because we’re excited to see how everyone’s photos turn out!
Date & time for viewing in Singapore: 4 – 7 am on Sunday, 5 January 2020
Quadrantids Meteor Shower | Northern Hemisphere & At Latitudes North of 51 Degrees South
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