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First major meteor shower of 2020 expected to happen tonight

Orionid meteor shower overshadowed this year
Posted at 9:20 AM, Jan 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-03 09:20:01-05

(WXYZ) — While it's expected to be cloudy with a chance of snow showers overnight in metro Detroit, the first major meteor shower of 2020 is expected to happen overnight Friday into Saturday.

According to Earthsky.org, the Quadrantid meteor shower is the first major meteor shower of the year.

Peak is expected early Saturday morning, but it's expected to run from late night Jan. 3 (Friday) through dawn on Jan. 4 (Saturday).

"Although the Quadrantids have been known to produce some 50-100 meteors in a dark sky, their peak is extremely narrow, time-wise. Peaks of the Perseid or Geminid meteor showers persist for a day or more, allowing all time zones around the world to enjoy a good display of Perseids or Geminids. But the Quadrantids’ peak lasts only a few hours," the website writes.

Being in the Northern Hemisphere helps, and the Intenrational Meteor Organization says the peak will be Jan. 4 at 8:00 UTC, which is 3 a.m. on Saturday morning.