New Meteor Shower May Be Huge, Starts Tonight

The nation could be in for a big show late Friday night as a new meteor shower makes its way across the skies. And—you don’t have to travel far to see it. 

Meteor showers are the result of the dust left behind from a comet.

The Camelopardalid meteor shower is the first of its kind. The unique name comes from the constellation it appears to originate from, which is Camelopardalis or the giraffe.

Director of the Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College in Champaign, David Leake said the comet has already passed the Earth several times.

“The comet was discovered ten years ago. It orbits the sun about every five years and of course every time it goes around it leaves a little trail. From what the experts are saying, three of the trails are kind of coming together and they’re going to be right about where the Earth is tomorrow morning,” Leake said.

Leake said darker skies are the best for viewing, and you don’t have to leave your backyard to see it.

According to NASA, the meteor shower could result in up to 1,000 shooting stars per hour.

The meteor shower is expected to start Friday night with peak activity taking place early Saturday morning from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. CT.