Fire in the sky: First meteor shower of 2012

Published 11:54 am Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Sky watchers and amateur astronomers should plan to bundle up and brave the cold temperatures to see the first meteor shower of 2012 early Wednesday morning.

The Quadrantids are often the most intense shower of the year, but also one of the shortest. Look up to the Heavens between 2 a.m. and dawn for your best chance to see the streaks across the sky. The Quadrantids happen when Earth passes through the trail of debris of an asteroid labeled 2003 EH1. Other showers are caused by widespread debris from comets and can last several nights.

If it is clear in the morning, experts say we could see 60-200 streaks across the sky, per hour.

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