When and where you can see the Eta Aquariids meteor shower peak

Get fresh for 1 of nan champion meteor showers of nan year, astronomy fans: nan Eta Aquariids are astir to peak, according to NASA. 

The ablution will highest overnight connected Sunday into Monday, though meteors from nan ablution will beryllium visible passim nan week, NASA said. The highest is happening adjacent a caller moon, which intends nan entity will beryllium darker and it will beryllium easier to drawback a glimpse of nan meteors. 

When and wherever to spot nan Eta Aquariids meteor shower

The champion clip to spot nan meteor shower is overnight Sunday into Monday. The ablution will beryllium viewable successful some nan Northern and Southern Hemisphere during pre-dawn hours, though nan champion viewing acquisition will beryllium successful nan Southern Hemisphere. Viewers successful nan Southern Hemisphere tin drawback 40 meteors per hour, while successful nan Northern Hemisphere, viewers will spot 10-20 meteors an hour.

Eta Aquarid meteors successful nan Northern Hemisphere are often Earthgrazers — agelong meteors that look to skim nan aboveground of nan Earth astatine nan horizon.

To get nan champion view, caput to an area good distant from metropolis lights aliases thoroughfare lights. NASA advises lying level connected your backmost pinch your feet facing east. It will return astir 30 minutes successful nan acheronian for your eyes to set capable to spot meteors. 

A flight-illuminated way and nan Milky Way are appearing successful nan nighttime entity during nan Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which is peaking successful Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, connected May 5, 2024.  Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via Getty Images

"Be diligent – nan show will past until dawn, truthful you person plentifulness of clip to drawback a glimpse," NASA said.

After nan peak, nan ablution will proceed done May 27. 

What makes nan Eta Aquariids special?

The Eta Aquariids are known for their speed. NASA notes that accelerated meteors tin time off glowing trains down them, which tin past for respective seconds to minutes. The Eta Aquariids recreation 44 miles per second. 

Meteors successful nan Eta Aquariids travel from abstraction debris that originated from Halley's comet. Halley sheds a furniture of crystal and rocks into abstraction each clip it returns to nan soul star system. The shed abstraction particulate forms 2 meteor showers a year: nan Eta Aquarids successful May and nan Orionids successful October.

What are meteor showers?

While meteors — abstraction rocks that participate Earth's ambiance — streak done nan entity each night, meteor showers hap little frequently. Many meteors deed Earth's ambiance complete a short play of clip during meteor showers. As they walk done nan atmosphere, nan meteors time off down streaks of ray caused by glowing, basking air. 

Most meteors pain up arsenic they fall, but location are immoderate that past nan travel and scope Earth. Those are considered meteorites.

Look up — what other tin you spot successful nan entity this spring?

Astronomy fans tin cheque retired nan Flower Moon this period arsenic May's afloat satellite rises. May's afloat satellite will scope highest illumination connected May 23 according to NASA. The Old Farmer's Almanac specifications circumstantial moonrise times for different ZIP codes crossed nan United States. 

May's afloat satellite is nan past afloat satellite of spring. June's afloat satellite reaches highest illumination connected June 21, 1 time aft nan summertime solstice.

The adjacent meteor ablution is the Southern delta Aquariids successful July, according to nan American Meteor Society.

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• Meteor Shower