The first meteor shower of the year is set to light up the skies over Norfolk.

The Quadrantid meteor shower will peak tonight, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

It is one of the strongest and most consistent showers of the year and can produce more than one hundred meteors per hour. 

Meteor showers occur when pieces of debris enter our atmosphere and burn up, appearing as shooting stars.

The Quadrantid shower produces blue meteors with fine trains which can be seen across the night sky. 

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According to the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the peak period of the Quadrantids only lasts a few hours meaning that there will only be a short window to watch the phenomenon. 

The Met Office has forecast relatively clear skies overnight however the moon being in its last quarter means there may be some light interference. 

The best places to observe the phenomenon in Norfolk are more rural, open areas where there is less light pollution and more of the sky is visible. 

For those who don't get a chance to spot the phenomenon this weekend, the meteors will continue to be visible in the night sky at lower rates until January 12.