x
Breaking News
More () »

GeekWire: Quadrantid meteors reach their peak, upstaged by a supermoon’s afterglow

It’ll be hard to spot shooting stars, due to the night-long glare from a moon past its super-sized full phase.
A Quadrantid fireball lights up the sky. (Jimmy Westlake Photo via NASA / Colorado Mountain College)

News Brief: The good news is that the annual Quadrantid meteor shower is reaching its peak tonight with relatively clear skies in the forecast for Western Washington. The bad news? It’ll be hard to spot shooting stars, due to the night-long glare from a moon that’s just past its super-sized full phase. But if the skies over Seattle are clear at 7:12 a.m. PT Thursday, there’s a six-minute space station passthat’s worth getting up to see. For more about this year’s “moon-out” and the Quadrantids, check out Sky & Telescope’s preview.

Before You Leave, Check This Out