Quadrantids meteor shower to put on display Friday

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The Quadrantids meteor shower is expected to reach maximum activity from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., EST on Friday with the best viewing in Alaska, Hawaii, and eastern Asia.

Bob Lunsford, of the American Meteor Society, said the best time to see the shower would be before dawn if stargazers are in the Pacific.

East Coast skywatchers in North America could see as many as 25 meteors streaking through the sky while West Coast views are likely to see double that because of the later sunshine, Lunsford said.

Shyam Balaji, an astroparticle physics researcher at King's College of London, said the best time for Brits to see the meteor shower will be from the late-night Friday to dawn on Saturday.

"The Quadrantids are known for their bright fireball meteors, which can appear blue," Balaji said, according to The Guardian. "This blue color is due to the high velocity of the meteors and the presence of certain elements like magnesium and iron in the meteoroids, which emit blue lights when they burn up in the Earth's atmosphere."

NASA says the Quadrantids have much shorter peak times than most meteor showers, which tend to last up to two days. The space agency said the reason for this is because the shower stream particles are thinner, and the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle.

Quadrantids are known as well for their bright fireball meteors, larger explosions of light and color that can last longer than an average meteor streak.