Bits of Halley’s Comet lights up Eta Aquarids meteor shower
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower seen from Chile.
Yuri Beletsky / Spaceweather.com
If you missed that Lyrid meteor shower in AprilThis week there is another opportunity to catch some “shooting stars” while the remains of a famous comet burn in the night sky.
The Eta Aquarids are expected to peak on Tuesday and Wednesday from May 5th to 6th.
Every year at this time the earth drifts through a stream of debris left by Halley’s comet. Dust, stone, and other dirt particles heat up when they collide with our atmosphere, forming fleeting paths and occasional fireballs that can be seen with the naked eye.
According to NASA, the meteors appear to come from the constellation Aquarius and more precisely from the region of the constellation near one of its brightest stars, Eta Aquarii, this is how the shower gets its name.
Unfortunately, the shower has some competition this year. It falls just before the last Supermoon of 2020.
“Intense glare from one of the largest full moons of the year will reduce the number of visible meteors from the usual 40 per hour to no more than 10 or 15 per hour.” writes the astronomer Dr. Tony Phillips.
But looking for a reason to go outside is not a bad feat for any meteor shower.
Phillips says the best time to spot the Eta Aquarids is to get up early, about an hour before sunrise, when Aquarius is high in the eastern sky.
“Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning are both good. Halley’s rubble stream is wide enough to spread the shower over two days.”
The further south you are, the better your view of this shower will be. Good news, Australia!
To see the show, plan to start as close as possible to four or five in the morning. Find a place outside of light pollution with a clear view of the sky. Sit back, let your eyes get used to the dark and just relax. If you can orientate yourself to look towards Aquarius, that’s great, but if you have a sufficiently wide view of the sky, you should be able to catch meteors without locating the constellation.
Enjoy the fire in the sky, preferably at least one meter away from other sky watchers.
