＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
Have you ever actually seen a shooting star? When I was a child, I remember seeing one by chance once and thinking, “Ah, a star is falling!” It was just a fleeting moment, but I remember it happening.
“When You Wish Upon a Star” is the theme song of the Disney movie “Pinocchio,” and there’s also a saying that if you make a wish in your mind three times while a shooting star is passing by, your wish will come true.
In this way, shooting stars can be thought of as an astronomical show that makes us feel closer to the universe.
Incidentally, the Quadrantids are one of the three major meteor showers that can be seen almost every year. The other two are the Perseids and the Geminids.
So, today I’d like to give you an easy-to-understand introduction to the Quadrantids.
1. How to Enjoy the Quadrantids
While the Perseid meteor shower can be seen in midsummer in August and the Geminid meteor shower in midwinter in December, the Quadrantid meteor shower can be seen a little later, from late December to mid-January.
(1) Best Viewing Times, Directions, and Locations
The meteor showers appear every year from around December 28th to January 12th, reaching their peak (best viewing) on January 4th.
On the night of January 4th, when it peaks, you can expect to see up to 45 shooting stars in an hour if the sky is clear.
According to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, the meteor shower becomes active around midnight when the radiant point rises, providing a good opportunity for observation. You can observe it until the sky begins to lighten around 6:00 AM.
There’s no need to worry about the viewing direction.
For best visibility, choose an open area away from streetlights and moonlight, and observe for at least 15 minutes until your eyes adjust to the darkness.
(2) Origin of the Name
The Quadrantids are a meteor shower with a radiant point near the border between the constellations Boötes (Booters) and Draco (Dragon). The Quadrantids are so named because French astronomer Lalande once established a constellation called the Quadrantids near the shower’s radiant point.
The Quadrantids were abolished by the International Astronomical Union in 1928, and the Draco meteor shower became the official name. However, meteor watchers continued to use the name Quadrantids out of convention, so the Quadrantids were reinstated as the official name at the IAU General Assembly in August 2009, preserving the convention.
2. The parent body of the Quadrantids
There are various theories about the parent body, and it has not yet been confirmed. In recent years, the asteroid with the asteroid number 196256 (provisional designation 2003EH1), discovered in 2003, has become the leading candidate.
3. The Difference Between a Meteor and a Comet
While both have a luminous tail, a meteor is a phenomenon in which cosmic dust emits light, while a comet is a small celestial body in the solar system.
A comet is a small solar system body composed of ice mixed with solid particles, also known as a “dirty snowball.” As it approaches the Sun, the heat melts the ice, and the gas and particles released from its surface reflect the sunlight, making it appear to glow.
Their tails are formed by the solar wind, so they extend in the opposite direction from the Sun, regardless of their direction of travel.
Meteors are formed when cosmic dust enters the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, causing the friction that creates the glow.
Meteors also shine with tails, but they begin to glow at an altitude of around 100 km and many burn up at around 70 km, so they only appear to shine for a moment when viewed from the Earth.
Also, because they are burning as they approach Earth, meteor tails extend behind them in the direction of their movement.