Your first major opportunity to spot shooting stars and bright fireballs in 2026 arrives overnight tonight with the peak of the Quadrantid meteor shower, though only the brightest members may be visible, as the annual event crescendos in the bright light of a full moon.

WASHINGTON — One of the best and brightest celestial displays of the year is about to peak this weekend. The Geminids, an annual meteor shower that takes the spotlight around mid-December, is set to peak late Saturday, Dec. 13, into Sunday morning, Dec. 14.

If you're planning to gaze at the night sky in the upcoming year, be sure to mark these dates in your calendar.

The Geminid meteor shower put on a dazzling cosmic firework show when it peaked overnight on Dec. 13 as shards of the solar system asteroid (3200) Phaethon collided with Earth's atmosphere, forging fiery paths that illuminated the December night sky.