Residents of Moscow and Moscow region will be able to observe the Quadrantida meteor shower due to clearing in the clouds. This was stated by the leading specialist of the weather center "Phobos" Michael Leus.

“Today, it is quite possible that someone will see, because the upcoming night will be clearing in the clouds in Moscow and the Moscow region,” Leus told RIAMO.

As told at the Moscow planetarium, celestial objects will fly out of the constellation Bootes.

“Up to 120 meteors per hour are expected on Saturday night, it's one or two meteors per minute in clear skies,” TASS quoted astronomer of the Moscow planetarium Lyudmila Koshman.

According to her, quadrantids can be observed throughout Russia, and the moon will not prevent you from admiring the starfall, as it will disappear beyond the horizon after one in the morning.

“In order to see the heavenly performance, you need to look towards the northeastern horizon of the sky, it is there that the Quadrantid radiant will be located. The first starfall of 2020 promises to be one of the brightest, ”said Koshman.

For the first time, Quadrantids became known in 1825. The name meteor shower came from the constellation of the Wall Quadrant, discovered by the French astronomer Lalande Jerome in 1795.

It is noteworthy that the Quadrant constellation was not very popular among astronomers, and was not included in the modern list of 88 constellations, adopted in 1922 by the International Astronomical Union. The name of the disappeared constellation remained in astronomy precisely thanks to the meteor shower.

According to RT, Dmitry Vibe, head of the physics and star evolution department of the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Quadrantida meteor shower is the first meteor shower from the main streams throughout the year.

“It starts back in December, at the end, it lasts until about January 7, the peak falls on January 3-4. The meteor shower manifests itself annually, that is, it is a regular phenomenon, ”the scientist said.

According to him, ordinary meteor showers are called by the name of the constellation where the meteor’s departure point is located, however, this stream’s radiant was in the former constellation of Quadrant, which determined its name. Vibe drew attention to the fact that this constellation now does not exist, and the radiant is in the constellation Bootes.

“Like other meteor showers, this stream does not require special equipment for observation, a sufficiently dark cloudless sky and preferably with an open horizon,” the scientist said.

According to the Crimean astronomer Alexander Yakushechkin, in the second half of 2019 there was a whole series of unfavorable astronomical conditions for meteor observations, but at the beginning of 2020 the situation could change.

“But the beginning of 2020, finally, if the weather permits, will give us the opportunity to enjoy the most interesting Quadrantid streams - the first stream of the year. The new moon was December 26, January 3, the moon will go through the phase of the first quarter, ”Yakushechkin told RIA Novosti.

Key Astronomical Events of the Year

Note that the Moscow Planetarium outlined a number of other significant events that will occur in January 2020. The first of them has already happened - on January 1, 2020, one year passed since the New Horizons spacecraft flew 3500 km from the Ultima Thule object, which is located at a distance of 43.4 AU (6492545764.59 km) from the Sun.

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In addition, on January 5, the Earth will be at the closest distance from the Sun, which will make it possible to observe the largest disk of the Sun in the year. Later, on January 10, there will be a penumbra eclipse of the moon with a maximum phase of 0.92. This should happen at 22:10 Moscow time and will be visible throughout Russia. In addition to this, on January 27-28, the young moon and Venus will come closer in the evening sky.

The coming 2020 should also be rich in eclipses. According to the Moscow Planetarium, there will be six such phenomena in the coming year: four lunar and two solar.

In addition to the January eclipse already mentioned, penumbral eclipses of the Moon (June 5, July 5 and November 30), a ring-shaped eclipse of the Sun (June 21) are expected. The final for 2020 is a total eclipse of the Sun (December 14), it will be seen by residents of Chile and Argentina.