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Susannah Redstone / Supplied
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower is the remains of Comet Halleys. This photo was taken on the Murawai beach on Saturday, May 4, 2019.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Kiwis will enjoy an impressive meteor shower.
Eta Aquarids – meteorites that appear from the constellation ‘Aquarius’ – will shoot through the night sky.
Dark Sky Project Astronomy Guide Sam Lord said the best time to see the shower will be between 4 a.m. and sunrise.
“It is better to look in the opposite direction of where the meteors come from (take your eyes off Aquarius) so that the meteorites seem to shoot overhead.”
Looking at the meteor shower? Send your photos and videos to [email protected]
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* Eta-Aquarids meteor shower dazzles Auckland’s night sky
* Shooting stars to light up the skies as the Eta Aquariid meteor shower passes
This meteor shower is caused by Earth passing through the debris trail left by Halley’s Comet. It is usually active between April 19 and May 28 every year.
As the comet “slingshot” around the sun and Earth passes through its debris, the rocky fragments burn up in our atmosphere and appear as “bright rays of light in the sky.” But they move pretty fast: “blink and you’ll miss it,” Lord warned.
Meteorites are generally only visible for a second or two: “Anyone who is watching definitely has to keep their eyes on the sky!”
The brightness and duration of the shower depend on the size of the debris that is burned. If there is a large amount of debris in the mix, it will create a bright moment for several seconds and may even have a blue or green tint.
Lord said the rain is peaking on Tuesday, but it will be visible for a few more nights: “The problem is that the moon will get increasingly full and stay in the sky more and more at night.” But it’s still worth a peak if the weather allows it.
“At the peak, I’ve seen estimates of 30 [to] 60 shooting stars per hour, although many of them are likely weaker and harder to see in the moonlight, “he said.
The forecast on the MetService website does not seem so fast for some parts of the country. In Wellington, the night forecast is cloudy with rain, the same was true for Auckland and Christchurch.
MetService forecaster Sonja Farmer said it would be “lucky” if the sky was clear in time for the shower.
“It really doesn’t look very good at all.
“The North Island is practically a cancellation … West Coast [and] some central areas [in the South Island may have visibility] but they are showers, showers, showers, and just for a change, rain, “he said.
Bad weather will clear from midnight to the bottom of the North Island and parts of the South Island, but Farmer couldn’t say if it would be in time to see the celestial event.
“You just have to get out there and take advantage of luck, to be honest.”
Lord advises anyone lucky enough to enjoy a clear night sky to get away from any light pollution to a nice dark place.
Having seen a fair amount of meteor showers, Lord said it is an amazing sight to see, especially if you see rare and shiny pieces of debris.
“Sometimes they can light up the whole sky, but only for a few seconds, so it’s really amazing.
“Like I say, you have to be looking at the right place at the right time, so I always feel a little sad if my colleagues say ‘oh, meteorite’ and I don’t have time to look around before it leaves!”
If you miss this one, there is a second meteor shower created by the debris in October called the Orionid meteor shower.
