First Meteor Showers of Year 2015 Peaks This Saturday!

It's 2015, and the first meteor shower of the year is already making its way into night skies. On Saturday night (Jan. 3), the Qadrantid meteor shower will reach its peak, so remember to take a step outside to check out all of the action.

Meteor showers are usually named after the constellation in the sky where the meteors seem to emanate from. As an example, the Perseids are named after the constellation, Perseus. In this case, though, there is no constellation named Quadrans. Instead, the meteor shower received its name from the once-named Quadrans Muralis, the Wall Quadrant, which was a constellation that was incorporated into the constellation Bootes in 1922, according to Space.com.

Meteor showers themselves are actually what occur as the Earth travels through debris in space. When the bits of rock hit the Earth's atmosphere, it burns up and forms the "shooting stars" that you see streaking across the sky.

During its peak, the Qadrantid meteor shower can produce as many bright meteors as the more famous PErseids. Yet the shower's actual peak time is a lot narrower, which makes seeing a Quadrantid much less than seeing a Perseid. The peak time of this shower should be Jan.3 at 9 p.m. EST. During this time, the radiant will be close to the northern horizon.

As always, when viewing a meteor shower, you should be sure to stay away from any bright lights from large cities or towns. And while the peak of the shower is at 9 p.m., the best time for viewing the meteor shower will be more around 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. The moon will also be out in force since it will only be one day shy of its full phase, so make sure that you position yourself to have the moon blocked by a building or a tree.

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