1st Meteor Shower Of 2021 Peaks In PA: How, When To Watch

The first major meteor shower of 2021 will peak over Pennsylvania skies this weekend. The Quadrantids meteor shower has the potential to be one of the strongest of the year, but the window for maximum activity is short — only six hours.

Peak activity occurs late at night Saturday, Jan. 2, and early Sunday morning, Jan. 3. The National Weather Service forecasts partly cloudy skies overnight. On Sunday, there's a chance of rain.

The Quadrantids are a prolific meteor shower, sometimes offering from 50 to 100 shooting stars an hour in a dark sky, and are known for producing bright fireballs. As with all meteor showers, the Quadrantids are best viewed away from city lights.

The Quadrantid meteor shower faces competition this year from a waning gibbous moon, according to Earthsky.org. But even with the moonlight, it may still be possible to catch fireballs. The Quadrantids started Sunday and continue through Jan. 10.

There will be many other reasons to go outside and gaze at the nighttime sky in 2021.

Some meteor shower highlights include:

• Lyrids, April 21-22
• Eta Aquariids, May 4-6
• Delta Aquariids, July 27-30
• Alpha Capricornids, July 28-29
• Perseids, Aug. 12-13
• Draconids, Oct. 8
• Orionids, Oct. 20-21
• Taurids, Nov. 4-5 and again Nov. 11-12
• Leonids, Nov. 16-17
• Geminids, Dec. 13-14
• Ursids, Dec. 21

Plus, three full moons in 2021 qualify as supermoons, beginning with April’s full moon and ending with June’s.

Check out Patch's 2021 skywatching guide for Pennsylvania.