Stargazers will have a chance to see another meteor shower this week – the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, which will be visible before dawn on May 5, 6, and 7. The Eta Aquarids get their name from the radiant that appears from the constellation Aquarius.
Early Tuesday May 6th, just before morning begins to light up the eastern sky, stargazers have an opportunity to see a meteor shower made up of debris from one of the most famous of comets in history: Halley’s Comet.
Halley’s Comet made its last pass through the inner solar system
in 1986 and it’s not due back until the summer of 2061. Nonetheless, each time Halley sweeps around the sun, it leaves behind a dusty trail , some call it “cosmic litter” that ends up trailing behind the comet. Debris from Halley’s Comet will be lighting up the sky in the early Tuesday, just before dawn. The best time to view the meteor shower would be around 4 a.m. local time. For those living on the Southern hemisphere, stargazers will see up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. However, for those in North America, expect to see only 10 meteors per hour at its peak.
And as it turns out, the orbit of Halley’s Comet closely approaches the Earth’s orbit at two places. The first point comes now, in early May, producing the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The other point occurs in the middle to latter part of October, producing a meteor display known as the Orionid meteor shower.
You may watch the event live online, beginning Monday evening at slooh.com/
