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The Eta Aquarid meteor shower seen from Chile.
Yuri Beletsky / Spaceweather.com
If you missed the month of April Lyrical Meteor Shower, you have another chance to catch some “shooting stars” this week as the remains of a famous comet burn in the night sky.
The Eta Aquarids are forecast to peak at Tuesday and Wednesday May 5 and 6.
Every year around this time, Earth travels through a stream of debris left by Halley’s Comet. Chunks of dust, rocks, and other debris heat up as they collide with our atmosphere, creating fleeting trails and occasional fireballs that can be seen with the naked eye.
According to NASA, meteorites seem to originate from the constellation Aquarius and, more precisely, from the constellation region near one of its brightest stars, Eta Aquarii, which is like rain gets its name.
Unfortunately, this year the shower has a little competition. It falls just before 2020 super final moon.
“The intense glare from one of the largest full moons of the year will reduce the amount of visible meteors from the usual 40 per hour to no more than 10 or 15 per hour,” writes astronomer Tony Phillips.
But if you’re looking for a reason to go out, that’s not a bad presentation for any meteor shower.
Phillips says the best time to spot 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 good. The Halley debris stream is wide enough to extend the shower for two days.”
Generally speaking, the further south you are, the better your view of this shower will be. Good news, Australia!
To see the show, plan to get out as close as possible to four or five in the morning. Find a place away from light pollution with a clear view of the sky. Lie back, let your eyes adjust to the dark and just relax. If you can orient yourself to look towards Aquarius, that’s great, but if you have a wide enough view of the sky, you should be able to catch meteorites without locating the constellation.
Enjoy the fire in the sky, preferably at least six feet away from any other sky watcher.
