Skygazers won’t have to wait long to get a spectacle this year, as the first meteor shower of 2024 is expected to arrive this week, bringing up to 120 shooting stars per hour to the night sky.
The Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to peak this Thursday and has the potential to be the strongest meteor shower of 2024, according to the American Meteor Society.
However, the show will have a short peak, lasting just six hours, with the climax possibly occurring in the daylight.
EarthSky predicts that the peak will come at 7:53 a.m. EST on Jan. 4, with meteors lighting up the night sky, starting around 4:53 a.m. EST and lasting till dawn.
The western regions of the United States will have the best chance at viewing the Quadrantids, with an average of 25 meteors appearing per hour.
Still, it may be hard to spot the meteor shower as the bright quarter moon will be bright in the sky as the Quadrantids peak.
The Quadrantid meteor shower is believed to be caused by dust and debris left in the inner solar system by the Asteroid 2003 EH1. The space rock orbits the sun every 5.5 Earth years, according to NASA.