Quadrantid meteor shower early January 4, 2011
The Quadrantid meteor shower is one of the year’s best, producing more than 100 meteors per hour from a radiant near the North Star. In 2011 forecasters expect the shower to peak sometime between 21:00 UT (3:00 pm EST) on January 3 and 06:00 UT (01:00 am EST) on January 4. The peak is brief, typically lasting no more than an hour or so. Observers who wish to try to catch it are advised to look during the hours before local dawn on Tuesday, Jan. 4th, when the shower’s radiant is high in the sky.