Colorado Skies Should Be Mostly Clear For Peak Quadrantid Meteor Shower On Saturday
(CBS4/CNN) -- The Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the best annual shows in the night sky, peaks late Friday into early Saturday. Those in the Northern Hemisphere have the best chance of seeing the bright, fireball meteors. All you need is the dark, open sky between midnight and dawn.
"The International Meteor Organization (IMO) is projecting that the Quadrantid meteor shower will peak around 1 a.m. Saturday," the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website states. "AccuWeather predicts that most of Colorado, including the eastern plains, will have good viewing conditions for the shower."
CBS4 meteorologist Dave Aguilera said skies in the Denver area are expected to be clear -- but it will be breezy, with temperatures in the 20s. However, there could be some clouds and light snow in the northern central mountains during the early part of the shower.
Experts recommend finding a spot away from the bright lights of urban areas -- such as Jackson Lake State Park.
"Morgan County has exceptionally dark skies once you journey away from our still quiet towns onto a county road. We should consider ourselves lucky to still be one of the few places our children can look up and see the big dipper, or even the Milky Way on a clear night," Amy Brandenburg, Park Ranger at Jackson Lake State Park, stated.
"Jackson Lake State Park was awarded two separate grants - $3,500 from the Colorado Parks Foundation and $20,000 from the Director's Innovation Grant - to fund a 'Dark Skies Initiative,'" the CPW website states. "This project consists of eliminating and changing out lights inside and outside all buildings on the park to be 'dark skies friendly.'"
"Since the lighting will be so minimal at Jackson Lake State Park, it will become an even more significant place to visit during unique celestial and lunar events," officials stated. "The grants also affords the park the opportunity to acquire a new telescope to use while hosting educational and interpretive programs for the public. Guests can expect several experts in the field to share their knowledge, as well, at certain times of the year."
You can read more about Jackson Lake State Park and the Dark Skies Initiative on the CPW website.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
