Quadrantid meteor shower graces night sky in north China

A fabulous Quadrantid meteor shower illuminated the night sky in Yangquan City of north China's Shanxi Province from Friday night into the early hours of Saturday. As meteors streaked across the clear, starry sky, up to 110 meteors per hour were observed and captured through long exposure lenses. The dazzling display lasted for about six hours.

The meteorites are of medium speed and high brightness, often accompanied by bright fireballs.

Quadrantids, Perseids and Geminids are three major meteor showers in the northern hemisphere.

A Long March-3B rocket successfully sent test satellite Shijian-25 into space Tuesday morning, marking China's first rocket launch in 2025.

The Long March-3B is China's first carrier rocket series to complete 100 launches, having served the construction of China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System and China's lunar exploration program.

Mainly used to launch high-orbit spacecraft and satellites, the Long March-3B rockets will serve more than 10 major space missions this year, including asteroid exploration.

The Long March-3B rocket carrying the Shijian-25 test satellite blasted off at 04:00 Beijing Time from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, bringing the payload into the preset orbit later.

The satellite is primarily used for the verification of satellite fuel replenishment and life extension service technologies, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, the Shijian-25's developer.

The launch marked the 555th mission of the Long March series carrier rockets.

"The Tuesday launch is the first mission of China's Long March series carrier rockets in 2025. The relevant teams dedicated to this rocket model have taken more than 40 strict measures to make full-scale preparations and ensure a complete success of the launch mission," said Qin Yi, an official of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.