Insomniacs in Singapore can stay up on Jan. 5, 2020, from 4am to 7am to catch the Quadrantids meteor shower, as it has been touted by NASA as possibly the best meteor shower of the year.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on its website that the bright fireball meteors will be appearing at 200 an hour.

For Singapore, the phenomenon is expected to peak on Sunday morning.

In northern America, it has peaked on Jan. 4 morning.

A meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or asteroid.

The Quadrantids meteor shower typically occurs in early January and has a shorter peak than others.

Stargazers in Singapore will be able to view the shower without the use of binoculars or telescopes.

This is conditional on whether there is clear weather, the Science Centre Singapore said.

In Singapore, up to 120 meteors per hour can be seen.

Best viewing

For best viewing, some "dark-sky locations" recommended include Mount Faber, Pulau Ubin, Sungei Buloh and Tampines Ecogreen.

In order to have a better view, one should be able to watch a dark patch of the unobstructed sky.

Stargazers should give themselves 30 to 45 minutes away from sources of light for the eyes to adjust.

Catching the meteor shower on camera will be tough though.

It would require long exposure times to catch the fleeting fireballs.

Although the celestial event lasts until Jan. 10, the greatest number of meteors will be visible for just a couple of hours during this peak.

Other meteor showers, like the Geminids and Perseids, peak over couple of days.

Details here.

Top photo via NASA