Utahns willing to brave freezing temperatures early Saturday morning could see up to 100 shooting stars in an hour, but clouds likely will obscure the view.
The Quadrantid meteor shower is set to peak at 6 a.m., but meteors will start streaking across the sky after midnight and build up until dawn, said Patrick Wiggins, NASA's solar system ambassador to Utah.
"As a bonus, the peak occurs when the moon is not in the sky, making rural skies even darker, increasing chances of a good show," Wiggins said.
However, the weather outlook for Saturday morning does not look promising.
"During the day on Saturday, it looks like it will clear up, but during the meteor shower, you're probably not going to see it," said Monica Traphagan, of the National Weather Service.
The Quadrantid shower, like most meteor showers, draws its name from the constellation from which it appears to radiate. However, the star formation Quadrans Muralis is no longer recognized.
In other astronomical news, on Sunday the Earth will be at perihelion, or the closest point to the sun. However, it's the tilt of our planet that affects temperature, not our proximity to the star.
