During the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, up to 60 meteors per hour can be seen in the southern hemisphere. (Photo credit: Diana Robinson Photography via Getty Images)
The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower (also known as the Eta Aquarids or Eta Aquarids) will peak on Monday and Tuesday (May 5-6), giving observers the opportunity to see “shooting stars” in the night sky.
With the potential for up to 60 meteors per hour, this is a spectacular prospect for those with dark, clear skies, although your location will greatly affect what you see. However, this meteor shower has a broad peak, so it is possible to see shooting stars on the nights just before and after it reaches its peak.
According to EarthSky, the best viewing will be in the Southern Hemisphere and further south in the Northern Hemisphere, such as the southern United States. That's because the Eta Aquarids appear to originate from the constellation Aquarius, which rises higher in the sky the further south you look at it at this time of year. The exact “spot of light,” as astronomers call it, is the star Eta Aquarea, according to Time and Date.
The Eta Aquarids, under ideal conditions on a peak night, can produce up to 60 meteors per hour, making them a powerful meteor shower, but only if viewed from the tropics and south of the equator. Observers north of the equator can expect 10 to 30 meteors per hour just before dawn, according to the American Meteor Society.
The brightness of the moon can significantly affect the ability to see faint meteors. On May 6, a 63% illuminated waxing moon will set early in the morning, making the predawn hours the best time to see meteors. (May's full “Flower Moon” will appear on the 12th.)
From the northern United States, Canada, and Europe, the radiant will remain low on the horizon, limiting the number of meteors visible. While this means fewer meteors, they will be seen as “Earthgrazers” — meteors with long trails behind them that appear to skim across the horizon, according to NASA.
The Eta Aquarids occur when Earth passes through dust and debris left in the inner solar system by Halley's Comet. As our planet moves through this stream of cosmic dust, tiny particles enter the atmosphere at speeds of about 40.7 miles per second (65.4 kilometers per second), according to the American Meteor Society. Halley's Comet, which last passed close to Earth in 1986 and will return in 2061, is also responsible for the Orionid meteor shower, which will peak on the night of Oct. 20-21 this year.
Jamie CarterSocial LinksNavigationLive Science Contributor
Jamie Carter is a freelance journalist and regular Live Science contributor from Cardiff, UK. He is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Stargazing and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie writes regularly for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife magazine, and Scientific American, among others. He edits the website WhenIsTheNextEclipse
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