January 2025 Quadrantid Meteor Shower Tonight

Quadrantid meteor shower illustration.

The first meteor shower of the new year, the Quadrantid meteor shower, is expected to peak on the night of January 3rd, with the best viewing in the pre-dawn hours of January 4th. 

The peak might occur around 19:00 UTC on January 3rd, which would be ideal for viewers in the Pacific region, including parts of the U.S. like Alaska and Hawaii, where it would be early morning on January 4th, 2025.

Each year, the Quadrantids may favor the U.S., Asia, or Europe, depending on the timing of the meteor shower’s peak.

The Quadrantids are somewhat unpredictable but can have a maximum rate of about 80 meteors per hour, varying between 60 and 200 meteors per hour, according to NASA.

According to EarthSky, the moon will rise just before the peak, potentially washing out some of the meteors. 

Where to look for the Quadrantid meteor shower

The shower’s radiant, in the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis, is in a star-poor, but familiar, area in the northeast sky.

It makes a triangle with Ursa Major and Ursa Minor – the big and little dippers.

Where to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower

Given the location of the radiant at the northern tip of Bootes the Herdsman, only observers in Earth’s northern hemisphere will be able to see Quadrantids.