Between Monday and Tuesday, there will be a glowing light in the sky as the Earth passes through the cosmic fragments of Halley's Comet. The ETA Aquarids Shower is the third largest meteor shower of the year, active from mid-April to late May. The thick fragment patches (also known as peaks) are where we see the most activity. That's what happened around the world on the evening of May 5 and on the morning of May 6.
While aquatic worm showers don’t usually produce a lot of light flashes, they are known for their speed and glowing trails left in the sky. According to NASA, the meteors fired in the sky at a speed of 40.7 miles per second. Light trails can last from seconds to minutes.
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“ETA Aquarids is a meteor shower, especially because it's fueled by Halley's comet,” said Emily Rice, associate professor at Macaulay Honors College Astrophysics.
Halley's comet is one of the most famous comets, passing through the inner solar system every 76 years. Even though Halley's comet is still far away, it leaves traces, and the meteor shower was born from the dust traces of comet leaves in its orbital streams.
Back in 1986, when the comet last rotated in the inner solar system, it lost about 1/1,000 of its mass. Rice said the dust trail crossed Earth's orbit twice, which gave us two years of shooting showers: the ETA Aquarid shower and the October Orionid shower.
The ETA Aquarid shower is your last chance to see any shooting star in the past few months. The next one will be in late July.
How to view ETA Aquarium Meteor Shower
As long as you are not in extreme northern or southern latitudes, ETA Aquarid showers around the world can be seen. The southern hemisphere has the best view as the ETA aquarium will be higher in the sky. Residents in the Northern Hemisphere should expect to see “earth mud” or long meteors near the horizon that hope to sweep across the surface of the earth.
“The shower is expected to peak with 50 meteors per hour,” Rice said. This means you'll wait between the appearance of the meteor. The longer you are outside, the darker the sky becomes and the more you will see.
Stay away from the lights if possible
Like any shooting shower, you will get the best view between night, midnight and dawn when the light is minimal. You need to go to a place without the lights of buildings or street lights.
According to the American Meteor Association, it is very good to see the ETA aquarium shower, as the moon will be long before the radiation rises in the first quarter. Radiation is where showers seem to originate from showers. For ETA Aquarid showers, this is the Aquarius sign, so this is a great place to start looking for.
Rice added: “The sign of Aquarius is visible in the night sky, so it is a meteor shower for a night owl or early bird.”
You won't walk out the door and see them
You don't need a flashy camera or special equipment to watch a shooting star shower. However, you should not expect to step out and see it immediately. Your eyes need time to adapt to the darkness. So, bring a blanket, a chair or just lie on the grass and become comfortable. Rice says it takes about 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt and the shooting stars appear.
The shower will peak on Monday night, although Rice said it is possible that we will see Halley's Comet's meteor two to three weeks after the peak.
