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The Quadrantid meteoroid rain shower will peak this hebdomad and could bring up to 120 shot stars per time of day to the night sky .

It has the potential to be the strongest meteor shower of 2024 , according to theAmerican Meteor Society , but with such a short tiptop — just six hours — the shower ’s sexual climax can often happen in daylight .

A meteor shoots across the night sky sky leaving a trail of light across the milky way

A meteor shoots across the night sky sky leaving a trail of light across the milky way

This year , the omen peak is 7:53 a.m. EST ( 12:53 GMT ) on Jan. 4 , allot toEarthSky . That makes the pre - dawn hours — from around 4:53 a.m. EST to click — the good time to respect the shower from North America . Those in westerly area of the continent will have the best chance to watch for Quadrantids earlier at night . ( If you get anew pair of stargazing binocularsor anice beginner telescopefor the holiday , they sadly will not help you spot any fast - go meteor . However , here arethe good skywatching event of 2024to look forward to . )

About 25 shooting stars per hour are typically seen in a colored sky during the acme of the Quadrantids , according to theAmerican Meteor Society . However , it ’s likely not worth traveling to sullen skies for this event in 2024 because a shining last quarter synodic month will be in the sky just as the Quadrantids tiptop . moonshine bleaches the sky and name it more thought-provoking to see fainter shooting stars , though the Quadrantids are fuck to grow smart fireballs that reduce through scant contamination of all variety .

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Meteor showers are typically named after the constellation from which they seem to come from . In the casing of the Quadrantids , that ’s the constellation of Quadrans Muralis , though it is no longer recognized as a configuration . It ’s between the constellations of Bootes and Draco , near the ending of the grip of the Big Dipper in the northerly sky , according toNASA . Because of its position in the sky , the Quadrantid meteor shower is only visible in the Northern Hemisphere .

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