Quadrantids light up the sky
Scientists believe that the Quadrantid meteors are what remains from a since-smashed comet that shattered centuries ago. The Quadrantids meteor shower takes its name from an extinct constellation. Adolphe Quetelet of Brussels Observatory discovered the shower in the 1830s, and shortly afterward it was noted by several other astronomers in Europe and America. This winter sky show has since dazzled skywatchers around the world - the latest event taking place early on Jan. 4, 2012.
This image is a false-color composite of meteors in the skies over NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., on the night of Jan. 3-4, 2012. These represent a combination of Quadrantid and non-Quadrantid meteors.
Author: CBSNews.com
Credit: NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environments Office/Danielle Moser and Bill Cooke
