What to look forward to in space in 2025
CBC
Every year, we get to experience not only the wonders of the sky, but also missions to space that expand our knowledge of our universe.
This year, we were treated with a total solar eclipse, fantastic displays of the northern lights — visible in light-polluted cities like Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto — and spectacular meteor showers.
We also saw SpaceX's seemingly miraculous catch of its massive Starship booster, a crucial step in its development of a version of the spaceship that will take astronauts back to the moon in NASA's Artemis program.
So what's ahead for 2025?
Hot on the heels of December's Geminid meteor shower comes the Quadrantids.
This meteor shower rivals the two more popular ones: the August Perseids and, of course, the Geminids.
The shower runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 16, but peaks on the night of Jan. 2-3.
The Quadrantids produce roughly 120 meteors an hour at its peak, but only under ideal conditions. But the good news is that for this shower, the exact peak will be pretty close to when darkness falls.
"The nice thing about the Quadrantids is … we should be able to get within four or five hours of the absolute peak, so that the rate will be over 100 an hour, if it's clear," said Peter Brown, Canada Research Chair in Meteor Astronomy and a professor at Western University in London, Ont.
Another bit of good news is that the moon will only be illuminated by roughly 11 per cent, so it won't interfere with viewers' meteor-watching.
After the Quadrantids, there are other, smaller meteor showers, but none that can boast 100 meteors or more an hour. That is, until August.
That's when we get the Perseids, a meteor shower that is often regarded as the best of the year, mainly because it occurs in summer when the weather is warm and there is a better chance of clear skies.
The shower begins on July 17 and ends on Aug. 23, but its peak night falls on the night of Aug. 12-13. Unfortunately, however, the moon will be roughly 84 per cent illuminated, washing out all but the brightest meteors.
While we've only just come out of the Geminid meteor shower, we can now look ahead to the 2025 Geminids.
