The peak of the first Shibungid meteor shower of 2025 is expected this week

Ring in the new year with the first meteor shower of 2025.

The annual Quadrantids meteor shower is scheduled to peak early Friday morning, before dawn. Showers have already begun to fall, but that’s when people in the northern hemisphere will have the best chance of seeing shooting stars. The celestial show will continue until January 16th, although some lucky ones might be able to find some photos on New Year’s Eve.

The Quadrantids meteor shower is caused by a piece of an asteroid called 2003 EH1, which takes more than five years to complete one orbit around the sun.

The Quadrantids meteor shower is known for producing brighter, and sometimes more colorful, fireball meteors because they originate from larger pieces.

By the peak of the rain early Friday morning, the crescent moon has already set, so there’s no danger of the shooting stars being obscured by the bright moonlight.

The Quadrantids meteor shower will be best visible in mid-northern to far northern latitudes on Friday before sunlight begins to shine. For ideal viewing, pack your bags and go somewhere with a clear, unobstructed view of the sky, away from city lights.

Meteors can be seen with the naked eye without the need for special equipment.

In both clear and dark conditions, people were able to spot about 120 meteors per hour during the peak of the shower. According to NASA.

Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through huge streams of debris from comets and asteroids. When these pieces of rock and space dust collide with the planet’s atmosphere, they flare up and streak the night sky as shooting stars.

While most other meteor showers take two or more days to reach their peak, the Quadrantids’ peak is short, lasting only about six hours. NASA says this is because the debris cloud is relatively thin and Earth’s orbit is such that the planet passes through it at a perpendicular angle.

Meteor showers are usually named based on where in the sky the shooting stars appear to originate from. For example, Perseid meteors appear to come from the constellation Perseus, and Geminid meteors appear to originate from the constellation Gemini.

However, the Cygnids meteor shower is named after a now-defunct constellation known as the Cygnus. This group of stars was not included when the International Astronomical Union compiled its list of recognized modern constellations in 1922, but the meteor shower retained its name.

The former constellation Quadrans Muralis was located near the Big Dipper. Although meteors may appear to come from this point in the sky, people should be able to see them across the sky without looking in a specific direction.

The next major meteor shower this year, following the Cygnids meteor shower, is the Lyrid meteor shower, which occurs in April.