First meteor shower of 2012 comes next week
In 2011, most of the best meteor showers occurred when the moon was close to full. This natural “light pollution” made the fainter meteors impossible to see.
But 2012 starts out with a fine meteor shower, the Quadrantids, with absolutely no moon to interfere with the viewing. The Quadrantid meteor shower will peak on Jan. 4 at about 2 a.m. EST (0700 GMT).
Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through fields of debris left behind by comets or asteroids in the past. The result is that, instead of the handful of meteors, or “shooting stars,” which can be seen any clear night, we get a “shower” of meteors: dozens or even hundreds of meteors over the course of an evening.
The best known meteor shower of the year is the Perseids, which normally occurs in the second week of August. The other two most reliable meteor showers are the Geminids in mid-December and the Quadrantids in early January. [ Amazing Perseid meteor photos