Rare Unicorn Meteor Shower Visible Thursday For The First Time In 24 Years

The Alpha Monocerotid shower or "Unicorn Meteor Storm" could explode with 400 meteors an hour Thursday night.

There is a huge catch though, the shower only lasts for about 50 minutes. That means you'll have to be in the right place with some clear skies to catch the show. If this sounds crazy to you, don't worry, this is a really rare phenomenon. The last time we saw the Unicorn Storm was back in 1995.

There are no guarantees that this will happen as astronomers are hoping, but chances are good that we will see up to 400 meteors an hour Thursday night. The show will start at approximately 11:15pm on Thursday night, and last less than an hour. Experts say that this is an unusual event, and to catch it you need to be ready.

The shooting stars are fast, traveling at 40 miles per second, and they come at random. Don't be surprised to wait a minute between meteors during some parts of the outburst and less than a second at others

If the skies are clear on Thursday night, you'll want to head outside at around 11pm to give your eyes time to adjust to the dark. Look toward the East, southeast sky toward the Unicorn constellation.

If the weather does not cooperate, then you can watch a live stream of the Unicorn Meteor storm below.