In the early morning hours of May 5-6, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower is expected to peak, giving stargazers the chance to see a cosmic light show of shooting stars.
As USA Today reports, the Eta Aquarids meteors, which are created by debris from Halley’s Comet, are renowned for their speed. They enter Earth’s atmosphere at about 40.7 miles per second, leaving “trains” – glowing pieces of debris in the meteor’s wake – that linger for several seconds, according to NASA.
Under clear skies, the Eta Aquarids can produce a maximum rate of about 50 shooting stars per hour, according to the American Meteor Society.
Where do the Eta Aquarids come from?
The constellation from which meteors appear to originate gives a meteor shower its name. The Eta Aquarids appear near the constellation Aquarius when viewed from Earth.
The parent comet of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower is the famous Halley’s Comet, according to EarthSky. Halley’s Comet typically completes one orbit around the Sun every 76 years. As a result, when Earth passes through the comet’s orbit, the comet itself is very far away.
Halley’s Cosmic Effect on the Eta Aquarids
As our planet passes through Halley’s sweeping orbital path in early May, countless pieces of cometary debris will strike Earth’s atmosphere at speeds of up to 40 miles per second (65.4 km per second). Upon hitting the atmosphere, the air in front of these primordial particles compresses and imparts friction, causing them to disintegrate in spectacular fashion above our heads in flashes of light that can be easily visible to the naked eye under the right conditions.
According to Space.com, Eta Aquarids are known for leaving glowing debris trails in their wake. The best way to catch the longest trails is to find a patch of sky 40 degrees away from the radiant in the direction of your local zenith — the point in the night sky above your head — and to allow at least 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark. (Remember, 10 degrees is roughly the equivalent to the width of your upturned, clenched fist, when held at arms length from your body.)
It’s also possible that particularly large clumps of primordial debris shed by Halley can strike our atmosphere during these periods of activity, which create dramatic ‘fireball’ events as they blaze through the sky before disintegrating overhead.
Where to view the Eta Aquarids meteor shower
The shower’s radiant, the point in the sky from which Eta Aquarids meteors appear to originate, is located in the constellation Aquarius.
For viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, the shower is best viewed during the pre-dawn hours, when the radiant will rise along with Aquarius in the eastern sky. During this time, viewers in New York, for example, could expect to see around 10 meteors per hour. However, Aquarius will be low on the eastern horizon for mid-northern latitudes, making them some what difficult to spot.
For the best views, look toward the east during the pre-dawn hours of May 5-6, when the shower is predicted to peak. Stargazers should still be able to see some meteors until around May 21, although they will not be as bright after the peak, according to NASA.
There are more meteor showers to come this year
A number of significant meteor shower events are expected to this year, offering great opportunities to see more meteors (shooting stars). However, you will have to wait a bit. The Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids aren’t due to streak across our night skies until well into July, reaching their peak at the very end of that month. The popular Perseids’ peak isn’t until mid-August.
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