A meteor streaks over the northern skies in the early morning during the Perseid meteor shower north of Castaic Lake, California August 12, 2013. According to NASA, the Perseid meteor shower, which is an annual event, reaches its peak on August 11 and 12.
A meteor streaks over the northern skies in the early morning during the Perseid meteor shower north of Castaic Lake, California August 12, 2013. According to NASA, the Perseid meteor shower, which is an annual event, reaches its peak on August 11 and 12. The fireballs from the meteorites are fast and plentiful, the agency adds, with as many as 100 visible in a single hour. REUTERS/Gene Blevins

The 2014 Geminid meteor shower display is still expected to continue this week after its Dec. 13 and 14 peak but the sky watchers can gear up for another meteor shower display set to take place in January 2015. The upcoming display listed on the sky events calendar is the Quadrantid meteor shower.

According to an EarthSky report, the Quadrantid meteor shower peak will occur on Jan. 3 and/or 4 starting midnight until dawn. However, the report claims that the bright waxing gibbous moon will be washing out all but the brightest of the Quadrantid meteor shower display that is active during the first week of January.

The peak activity of the 2015 Quadrantid meteor shower will only last less than a day so the sky watchers are recommended to head to the location where the sky display peak can be observed. The Quadrantid meteor shower can be best observed at the northerly latitudes because the point in the sky where the Quadrantid meteors appear to radiate is far to the north on the sky's dome.

When it comes to the number of meteors produced during its peak, the Quadrantid meteor shower can match the meteor rates of the Perseid and Geminid meteor showers. The Quadrantid meteor shower display can produce 50 to 100 or more meteors per hour on a dark night sky.

A Tech Times report noted down that the Geminids and Quadrantids are the only major meteor showers that do not come from a comet material. Most of the meteor showers are the outcome of the planet Earth moving through the particles that comes threw off as they transport around the solar system but the source material of the Geminid and Quadrantid meteor showers come from an asteroid composed of rocky materials and metals.

The best time to observe the Quadrantid meteor shower peak is between midnight and the crack of dawn at local time. The viewers should also be aware that they might now see a remarkable display consisting of lots of meteors since the Quadrantid meteor shower peak will be constricted and last for only a couple of hours.