Meteors in the Quadrantid shower in January 1995. The image superimposed many video frames to illustrate the apparent origin of the meteors from their radiant. Image: Sirko Molau, IMO, Archenhold-Sternwarte, NASA Astronomers in the northern hemisphere braved the cold on the evening of Tuesday 3 January 2006 to watch the annual Quadrantid meteor shower, which at its peak can produce 60-120 meteors each hour.

Meteors, popularly known as ‘shooting stars’, appear as fleeting streaks of light and most are caused by particles no bigger than grains of sand. These collide with the Earth’s atmosphere at up to 70 km per second (157,000 mph) and burn up. With patience, meteors can be seen on any night of the year.

All the meteors in the Quatrandid shower appear to be coming from the same point in the sky, or radiant, situated near the familiar grouping of the Plough. The shower is named for the former constellation Quadrans Muralis, the stars of which once lay in that direction. The Quadrantids are also less well-known than many other meteor showers, probably because only the hardiest of observers brave the cold January nights.

In contrast with many meteor showers, the Quadrantids are not obviously connected to a particular modern-day comet but some astronomers believe them to originate from a large cometary body that broke up thousands of years ago.

Recently, SETI institute astronomer, Peter Jenniskens, has suggested that the Quadrantids are tied to the near-Earth asteroid 2003EH1. Dr Jenniskens believes this object is actually an extinct comet, possibly once seen by the Chinese in 1490. The comet may have subsequently broken up, releasing all its volatile material in a single event. When the Earth passes through the dust cloud each January we see the meteor shower.

Unlike many astronomical objects, observers need no special equipment to view meteors. Weather permitting, the sensitivity and wide field of view of the human eye are perfect for watching the Quadrantids and all observers need to do is watch the sky for a few minutes.

As ever, it pays to leave the lights of the city behind and rural sites will offer the best view of the Quadrantids, but they should be clearly visible all over the UK. A huge bonus this year is the near-absence of the Moon from the sky during the peak of the shower which should make it easier to see large numbers of meteors.