The night sky in Maine is beautiful all throughout the year. When the evening is clear and it’s warm enough to lay on your back and gaze upwards, there’s no shortage of the things you can see dancing above. Of course, you don’t need a warm night to stargaze and that’s a good thing because the next few weeks are set to bring one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year and it’s going to be visible right here.

Beginning on December 12th, 2019 and running through January 12th, 2020 the Quadrantid meteor shower will light up the sky.

LindemannFilmFotoDrohne / YouTube

This will be the year’s very first meteor shower and it’s set to be a great one!

eneas / Flickr

When the sun begins to set, you’ll want to head outside.

Tom Lee / Flickr

If you’re a photographer, get your gear set up now and perfect your shots over the course of the shower.

LindemannFilmFotoDrohne / YouTube

The shower will be visible when the radiant point, which is where the paths of meteors appear to begin, is above the horizon.

LindemannFilmFotoDrohne / YouTube

The shower will be in the constellation Bootes. When Bootes is in the night sky, the meteors should be seen!

LindemannFilmFotoDrohne / YouTube

The higher the constellation goes, the more meteors will be visible in the shower.

dshortey / Flick

The radiant point will be highest just before dawn, which means you’ll want to be looking around 4 a..m. The entire meteor shower is anticipated to reach its peak around 4 a.m. on January 4th.

LindemannFilmFotoDrohne / YouTube

Gather some friends and lots of warm clothes and be prepared to spend some time gazing upwards.

eneas / Flickr And, here are some tips:

At its peak, the Earth will rotate in a way that turns Maine towns including Portland right in the direction of the incoming meteors. This will seemingly increase the number of that look to be raining down towards the ground. This a very cool look!

But at other times throughout the month, we’ll see fewer meteors in the sky. The good news? The ones we do see will appear to come through the sky at an oblique angle, which means we’ll be able to see them for a longer period of time before they seem to burn away.

For a good view of what you’ll be looking for, check out this video of last year’s Quadrantid meteor shower:

LindemannFilmFotoDrohne / YouTube

eneas / Flickr

Tom Lee / Flickr

dshortey / Flick

And, here are some tips:

At its peak, the Earth will rotate in a way that turns Maine towns including Portland right in the direction of the incoming meteors. This will seemingly increase the number of that look to be raining down towards the ground. This a very cool look!

But at other times throughout the month, we’ll see fewer meteors in the sky. The good news? The ones we do see will appear to come through the sky at an oblique angle, which means we’ll be able to see them for a longer period of time before they seem to burn away.

You can learn more about the meteor shower and enter your own location for specifics on viewing here. And you can always visit the NASA site to learn even more about the night sky and how we’re working to explore it.

Did you know the Northern Lights are visible in Maine at certain times during the year? It is! And the dancing night sky in Maine was captured in all its splendor in this amazing video!

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