Don't miss the Quadrantids, the first meteor shower of 2024

The Quadrantids, the first meteor shower of the year, is expected to peak at 5 p.m. (Beijing Time) on Thursday, according to Xiu Lipeng, a member of the Chinese Astronomical Society.

The Quadrantid meteor shower will bring up to 120 shooting stars per hour to the sky, said Xiu.

The Quadrantids, along with the Perseids and Geminids, are the three major meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere. It is typically active from December 28 to January 12 and peaks around January 3 and 4.

Most meteor showers originate from comets, but the Quadrantids originate from an asteroid, the asteroid 2003 EH1, which is possibly a "dead comet" or a "rock comet," according to NASA.

The Quadrantids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the night and predawn hours; it's better to find an area well away from the city or street lights for observation and prepare for winter weather with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair, NASA suggested.

China will miss the best observation period since the radiant of the meteor shower will not rise until the latter half of the night, said Xiu. Though it can be observed in the second half of the night, there will be interference from the moon.

If you live in the Eastern U.S., you may not see more than 20 or 30 blue Quadrantid streaks during a single hour. But if you live in the West, you might see about a dozen or so Quads per hour, according to Space.com.