This dashcam footage is absolutely wild!

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Quadrantids Meteor Shower

From December 26th until January 16th, if you look up in the night sky you just might see some pretty cool sights as this is the time frame of the Quadrantids meteor shower.  According to the American Meteor Society (did you even know we had one of those??  Science is cool) the Quadrantids meteor shower peaked between January 3rd and 4th, but you still could spot meteors from this shower up until January 16th.

The American Meteor Society also says that these specific meteors typically produce really bright fireballs:

The Quadrantids have the potential to be the strongest shower of the year but usually fall short due to the short length of maximum activity (6 hours) and the poor weather experienced during early January. The average hourly rates one can expect under dark skies is 25. These meteors usually lack persistent trains but often produce bright fireballs. Due to the high northerly declination (celestial latitude) these meteors are not well seen from the southern hemisphere.

 

Illinois Dashcam Captures Incredible Meteor Footage

The Quadrantids meteor shower was said to peak between January 3rd and 4th, and this incredible footage happened to be captured on January 4th around 4:50 AM.  EvansvilleWatch shared the dashcam footage that was captured near Crossville. Illinois by Jessica H.The footage is absolutely fascinating! Check out the video below and look to the right of the screen.  If the video isn't showing up, click here.

Could you imagine driving down the road and seeing that?  To be totally honest with you, I'm not 100% sure I would have known it was a meteor!  I would have panicked a little until I realized it was a meteor ha!

More Meteor Showers are on the Way

If you happen to miss the Quadrantids meteor shower, which is still going on until January 16th, there are plenty of chances to catch a meteor shower in 2023

.  According to the American Meteor Society, there are 11 more meteor showers that will happen in 2023.   The next meteor shower is the Lyrids meteor shower which will happen in April.  If you want to see all of the meteor showers expected this year, you can check the American Meteor Society's calendar, here.