A meteor shower that is expected to go on through January 10 will peak tonight around midnight on the West Coast. It will be low to the horizon, but will at least be more visible than that November "unicorn" shower, which was a bust for California.

As the American Meteor Society explains, the Quadrantid meteor shower takes its name from the obsolete constellation Quadrans Muralis (Mural Quadrant). Star-watchers can now see the Quadrantids near the handle of the Big Dipper, or within the "herdsman" constellation known as Boötes.

These meteors have been observed since at least 1825, and unlike most meteor showers that originate from the debris of comets, the Quadrantids are believed to originate from an asteroid, or possibly a dead comet, and they can create some dramatic fireballs in the sky because of the perpendicular angle in which they hit Earth's atmosphere.

The peak tonight will occur around 12:20 a.m. Pacific Time, or 3:20 Eastern, though on the West Coast you will need to train your eye toward the horizon and avoid light pollution — also the waxing moon will not have set out here, which also might complicate viewing. The peak is expected to include around 100 meteors per hour for about six hours.

As Lifehacker notes, the next time this particular shower will be visible in North America won't come until 2028, so you may want to take a shot at seeing it while you can.