The first supermoon of the year and a meteor shower will coincide in the January sky, but the light of one may dim the view of the other.
The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks Friday night through Saturday morning, according to the American Meteor Society. In dark skies during the peak, observers typically see about 25 meteors per hour, but this time they're likely to see fewer than 10 per hour because of the light from Saturday's supermoon.
"The biggest enemy of enjoying a meteor shower is a full moon," said Mike Shanahan, planetarium director at the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey.
Meteor showers occur when high-speed space rocks collide with Earth's atmosphere, ignite and leave behind fiery trails — the end of what is called a "shooting star."
A supermoon occurs when a full moon is closer to Earth in its orbit. This makes it appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a normal moon.
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Scientists recommend waiting until your eyes adjust to the darkness, and not looking at your phone. Then you can see the meteors as small dots of light moving quickly across the sky.
The meteor shower called the Lyrids, which is also considered to be massive, will occur in April.
