One of the best meteor showers of the year is slated to happen early next week, and you’ll have just a few hours to see it, according to NASA.
The Quadrantid meteor shower will begin in the early morning of Jan. 4 and will last until dawn.
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Just face toward the northeast, look to the skies, and you may be able to see as many as two dozen meteors per hour, NASA officials said.
“The visibility of meteor showers from year to year has a lot to do with whether there’s a bright Moon in the sky at the time or not. This year, the Moon will set soon after midnight local time, meaning viewing conditions should be good, provided your local skies are not obscured by winter weather,” NASA said in a statement.
The further away you are from city lights, the darker it will be and the easier it will be to see the meteor shower.
NASA officials said despite this meteor shower being one of the best this year, it isn’t the only occurrence we’ll have to look forward to this month.
Mars will rise before dawn alongside the red giant star Antares this month, and both will be visible low in the southeast, just an hour before sunrise each morning.
Antares is larger than Mars, but to the human eye, it will appear as a tiny, flickering point of light in the sky, according to NASA.
And, on Jan. 20, the pair will be joined by a “slim lunar crescent,” in the sky and this will be a beauty you won’t want to miss.
To learn more about NASA’s sky forecast for this month, click here.