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Early-Morning Meteor Shower Biggest of the Year

Over 100 meteors touted during the Quadrantids, but there is a small window of opportunity to view them.

The first meteor shower of 2012 promises to be the most spectacular and the shortest such event of its kind.

The Quadrantid meteor shower will peak around 3 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4 when a gibbous moon will be setting at just around that time giving star gazers a few hours to enjoy the show. Around 60 to 120 meteors per hour could streak across the early morning sky.

Officials suggest observing the meteor shower in areas where light pollution is minimal.

The Quadrantids are typically the shortest meteor shower of the year, because astronomers believe the debris creating the celestial light show is left behind by an asteroid, dubbed 2003 EH1, according to Nationalgeographic.com. Other such meteor showers are created by bigger objects, such as comets.

The weather tonight is expected to be mostly clear, with temperatures in the low 50's with north winds at around 5 mph.

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