Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2020 January 3

                       Quadrantids over the Great Wall
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Cheng Luo

   Explanation: Named for a forgotten constellation, the Quadrantid Meteor
   Shower is an annual event for planet Earth's northern hemisphere
   skygazers The shower's radiant on the sky lies within the old,
   astronomically obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis. That location
   is not far from the Big Dipper, at the boundaries of the modern
   constellations Bootes and Draco. With the radiant out of the frame at
   the upper right, Quadrantid meteors streak through this night skyscape
   composed of digital frames recorded in the hours around the shower's
   peak on January 4, 2013. The last quarter moon illuminates rugged
   terrain and a section of the Great Wall in Hebei Province, China. A
   likely source of the dust stream that produces Quadrantid meteors was
   identified in 2003 as an asteroid. As usual, in 2020 the shower is
   expected to peak briefly on the night of January 3/4. Meteor fans in
   North America can anticpate a good show to celebrate the new year in
   moonless skies before tomorrow's dawn.

   Free Presentation: APOD Editor to show best astronomy images of 2019 --
                      and the decade -->tonight in NYC.
                      Tomorrow's picture: light-weekend
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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