用象限儀座流星群照亮夜空

用象限儀座流星群照亮夜空

The Quadrantid meteors, the first major meteor shower of 2020, will peak in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 4, but you'll have to act fast if you want to see them.

象限儀流星是2020年的第一場大型流星雨，將在1月4日黎明前達到峰值，但如果你想看到它們，就必須行動迅速。

They only appear for a few hours, an especially narrow window for spotting anything in the night sky. Though short, the meteor shower should be strong thanks to a waxing moon. In years past, the Quadrantids have produced 50-100 meteors per hour, and under ideal conditions, can spark up to 200 meteors per hour. The peak of this year's shower — around 3:20 a.m. EST on Saturday — could be one of the best opportunities for skywatchers, and well-worth braving the cold to experience.

它們只出現(xiàn)幾個小時，是觀察夜空中任何東西的一個特別窄的窗口。雖然流星雨時間很短，但由于月圓，流星雨的強度應(yīng)該會很大。在過去的幾年中，象限儀座流星群每小時產(chǎn)生50-100顆流星，在理想的條件下，每小時能產(chǎn)生200顆流星。今年的陣雨高峰——美國東部時間周六凌晨3點20分左右——對天文愛好者來說可能是最好的機會之一，值得冒著嚴寒去體驗一下。

On top of that, the meteor shower's radiant point — where the meteors appear to originate — is relatively far north in the Northern Hemisphere. So if you live in North America, you'll have a good opportunity to see the show.

最重要的是，流星雨的輻射點——也就是流星的起源點——在北半球相對較北的地方。所以如果你住在北美，你將有一個很好的機會去看這部劇。

Not like other meteor showers

不像其他的流星雨

Quadrantid meteor shower trails above Mount Hamilton in San Jose, California, in this undated photo. (Photo: Jeffrey T. Kreulen/Shutterstock)

While most meteor showers originate from a comet, the Quadrantids originate from Asteroid 2003 EH1. Most meteor showers are also named for the constellation closest to their radiation point, but the Quadrantids differ in this respect as well. There once was a constellation named Quadrans Muralis — thus the name — but it was incorporated into the constellation Boötes in 1922. If that doesn't ring a bell, try looking just below the Big Dipper starting around midnight, let your eyes get adjusted and look for meteors for at least an hour. Then, you should be in for a good show.

雖然大多數(shù)流星雨起源于彗星，但象限儀起源于小行星2003 EH1。大多數(shù)流星雨也以離其輻射點最近的星座命名，但象限儀在這方面也有所不同。曾經(jīng)有一個星座被命名為“四角星座”(因此得名)，但是它在1922年被并入了“靴子星座”。如果你還沒想起來，試著從午夜開始往北斗七星下面看，讓你的眼睛適應(yīng)一下，至少花一個小時來尋找流星。那么，你應(yīng)該會看到一場精彩的演出。

So if you have a camera, get ready and find a prime stargazing spot for one of the best meteor showers of the year.

所以，如果你有照相機，準備好，為今年最好的流星雨之一找一個最佳的觀星點。