Stargazers are in for a treat to start off the new year as the first meteor showers of 2023 are set to peak in the sky tonight.
The Quadrantid meteor showers are expected to be most frequent on the night of Tuesday 3 January, and with the right conditions will be visible until the early morning on Wednesday. The Quadrantids are among the strongest and most consistent of the meteor showers that take place each year, and there could be as many as 110 meteors in the sky every hour at its peak.
Meteors are caused by pieces of space debris burning up as they enter Earth's atmosphere at speeds of up to 42 miles per second, causing bright streaks of light as they vaporise. Quadrantids are blue meteors with fine trains that appear to come from the constellation Bootes, near the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major - one of the most recognisable star patterns in the night sky.
