Look up as the Quadrantid meteor shower puts on a show in the new year

The new year kicks off with the Quadrantid meteor shower, which is expected to peak in the overnight hours from Sunday to Monday.

The Quadrantids are typically among the strongest meteor showers of the year. Fortunately, a waxing crescent moon phase will practically render the moon invisible overnight, allowing for peak visibility of the meteors.

Still, the shower is notoriously hard to observe due to January's difficult weather and its short peak of only about six hours. It will be best seen in the Northern Hemisphere between the late-night hours Sunday and dawn on Monday, according to the American Meteor Society.

Meanwhile, the International Meteor Organization predicts the peak will occur around 20:40 Universal Time on Jan. 3, which will be best visible for those in Eastern Asia. Those in higher-latitude places across Europe will also be able to see some meteor activity, according to the American Meteor Society.

The Quadrantids aren't usually visible in the Southern Hemisphere because the radiant point of the shower doesn't rise very high in its sky before dawn.