This is a dated observing guide for one event. Check the source calendar and local conditions before making plans. A later year needs its own fresh forecast.
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A short maximum inside a long active period
The IMO calendar lists activity from December 28, 2025 to January 12, 2026, with the maximum close to 21:00 UTC on January 3. That wording supports an approximate hour, not a minute-by-minute countdown. If the maximum falls in daylight where you live, use the nearest dark period with the radiant above the horizon.
The listed ZHR of 80 describes an ideal dark sky with the radiant overhead. A real count also depends on cloud, skyglow, obstruction and the radiant’s lower position.
A shower named after a constellation that disappeared
Quadrans Muralis once occupied the area between Boötes and Draco. The International Astronomical Union omitted it from the modern constellation list, but the meteor shower kept its older name.
The radiant is listed near right ascension 230 degrees and declination +49 degrees. Those whole-degree coordinates have no stated epoch, so they identify a region rather than a pinpoint. The stream is linked to asteroid 2003 EH1, which NASA describes as a possible rock comet.
Watch the path, then decide where it came from
Choose a wide view away from direct lamps and give your eyes about thirty minutes to adapt. Warm layers and a reclining chair will help more than binoculars during a winter session.
Note each meteor’s time, direction, brightness and any train left behind. A Quadrantid path should trace backward toward the radiant, while sporadic meteors can cross the same sky from unrelated directions.