First Meteor Shower of 2013 Peaks in Early Morning Hours Thursday, Jan. 3

While it won't rival the Perseid and Geminid meteor showers, the Quadrantids meteor shower holds a special significance at it will ring in 2013 as the first shower of the year.

According to NASA, the meteor shower will peak in the early morning hours of Thursday, Jan. 3. "... the Quadrantids only last a few hours, so it's the morning of Jan. 3 or nothing," according to NASA's website. For those who don't want to brave a chilly night outdoors looking to the stars, NASA will present a live Ustream video of the meteor shower the nights of Jan. 2 through 4 here. 

The year 2012 was an interesting one for skygazers, with the Geminid meteor shower in mid-December, the Orionid meteor shower in October, a blue moon in August (the last until 2015), the Perseid meteor shower, the discovery of a fifth moon around dwarf planet Pluto in July and the Venus transit in early June. Will you be following what's happening in the skies during 2013? Tell us in comments.

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