We’re still several months away from the best meteor shower of the year — the Perseids — but a spring meteor shower known as the Eta Aquariids will give stargazers a decent sky show in early May.
The Eta Aquariids became active with sporadic meteors in mid-April, but they will be reaching their peak during the late-night hours on Saturday, May 4, into the early morning hours on Sunday, May 5, according to astronomy experts at Sky.com. Another good viewing time will be in the pre-dawn hours on Monday, May 6, says EarthSky.org.
The shooting stars from this annual meteor shower become visible each May as the Earth passes through the debris field of the famous Halley’s comet, which zips around our solar system and makes its closest trek near our planet every 75 to 76 years. (The comet’s next visit will be in July 2061.)
The Eta Aquariids shower can generate 10 to 30 meteors per hour in areas with a dark sky and little cloud cover.
This year’s viewing is considered ideal because the meteor shower will be peaking a few days before the new moon, MLive.com notes.
On May 4, the moon will be 18% illuminated, and on May 5 it will be only 10% illuminated, in its waning crescent phase. However, more meteors from this shower can be seen from the southern tropics than in the northern hemisphere, according to the American Meteor Society. The AMS says the best viewing time for our region will be shortly before dawn on Friday, May 5. “These are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs,” the AMS notes.
Other meteor showers to watch in 2024
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.
