“Prepare for a Celestial Spectacle: Quadrantid Meteor Shower Promises Fireball Wonders—Especially for New Yorkers!”

The stars are favorably positioned for 2025.

The Quadrantid meteor shower — regarded as one of the most spectacular yearly meteor showers — will reach its peak overnight from Thursday to Friday, featuring brilliant “fireballs” and as many as 120 meteors per hour.

Quadrantids are distinguished by their luminous fireball meteors, which are larger bursts of light and color visible for a longer duration than a typical meteor trail.

This event is considered one of the “most vigorous” meteor showers occurring in the sky each year, as noted by Science Alert.

Although the meteor shower usually occurs at the same time each year, factors such as moonlight, unfavorable weather forecasts, and the limited six-hour opportunity to observe the showers could hinder viewers from appreciating the celestial display.

The light conditions from the moon fluctuate every January, and it is anticipated that the moon will be at a suitable 11% full this Friday, resulting in a darker sky ideal for observing shooting stars, as per the American Meteor Society.

Observers aiming to witness the meteor showers may catch between 110 and 120 meteors every hour — provided they look upward during the shower’s six-hour span between Thursday and Friday.

New Yorkers might find themselves fortunate, as the Quadrantids are best observed in the northern hemisphere, with the peak likely occurring around 12:45 a.m. EST Friday, according to the meteor society.

From the northern hemisphere, observers should be able to locate the radiant point of the Quadrantids — the area from which the meteors seem to emerge in the sky — situated just below the Big Dipper, between the constellations Boötes and Draco.

The Quadrantids, visible without any telescopic assistance, are projected to continue until Jan. 16, 2025.

Following the Quadrantids, the next major meteor shower is the Lyrids, commencing on April 15 and concluding on April 30, with the peak occurring on the evening of April 21–22.