Quadrantid meteor shower to light up northern hemisphere sky

A Quadrantid meteor streaks across the sky over the Beypazari district of Ankara, Turkey in January 2022. Photograph: Anadolu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

While fireworks are a traditional way to welcome the new year, a natural phenomenon will be lighting up the northern sky this weekend as the annual Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak.

Taking its name from a now obsolete constellation known as Quadrans Muralis, the event is best viewed in the northern hemisphere, with the meteors appearing to radiate from the constellation Boötes, which is found near the collection of stars often dubbed the Plough or the Big Dipper.