Overview
- The full Moon reached maximum illumination at 5:03 a.m. ET on Jan. 3, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
- The Quadrantids were forecast to peak Jan. 3 from roughly 4–7 p.m. ET, with the best practical viewing from midnight to dawn by facing northeast with the Moon behind you.
- Lunar glare reduced visible activity well below the shower’s typical 80–120 meteors per hour under dark skies, though a few per hour were still possible from darker locations, including parts of northwest Mexico.
- The Quadrantids’ parent body is asteroid 2003 EH1, not a classical comet, a rarity that heightens scientific interest.
- NASA’s Noah Petro noted this was 2026’s first supermoon and among the year’s closest, with the full Moon near perigee at roughly 356,000–370,000 km, and the waning phase will bring darker skies for other targets in the days ahead.