Stargazers have the opportunity to close the year with a gift from nature, with a meteor shower to say goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025. The Quadrantids made their appearance on De

The Quadrantids meteor shower will peak on January 3 and 4, marking the first significant celestial event of the year. Anticipated to be one of the most intense, with up to 120 meteors per hour, viewing is best in early morning away from city lights.

"The Quadrantid shower is one of four major meteor showers each year with a sharp peak (the other three are the Lyrids, Leonids, and Ursids)," Earthsky.org states. As for a parade

In Central California, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Yosemite National Park are good bets for seeing celestial light shows. Shasta, Siskiyou, and other North State counties offer excellent places to view the night sky. On the North State coast, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is also a prime night sky-watching location.

Get ready for a spectacular start to 2025, as one of the most active meteor showers in the astronomical calendars is set to light up the skies.

This week’s Green Sense Minute features Michelle Nichols, director of Public Observing at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, who shares her expert advice on how to spot meteor showers in the night sky.