Stargazers will have an opportunity to see an iconic meteor shower next week, but this one is a bit more unique than others.
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower is set to peak on the morning of Tuesday, May 6, and while only 10 meteors per hour could be visible at its peak, residents are still encouraged to check for the spectacle.
According to NASA, the reason the Eta Aquarids produce so few meteors in the Northern Hemisphere is because the show’s “radiant” point is in the constellation Aquarius, which is significantly higher in the Southern Hemisphere sky than it is in the north.
Due to the constellation’s lower presence in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, it is more prone to produce meteors known as “Earthgrazers,” which like a stone skipping on a pond appear to barely skim the Earth’s surface at the horizon.
Most importantly, Space.com says those “Earthgrazers” have a unique feature as a result, which causes “very colorful and long-lasting trails,” making staying up into the early morning hours potentially fruitful for stargazers in a limited “window of opportunity.”
In addition to the relatively infrequent meteors with the shower, a challenge could arise thanks to the moon phase, with a waxing gibbous moon set to be in the sky during the meteor shower’s peak. That will help drown out at least some of the light from meteors, but the pre-dawn hours should still yield at least a few colorful images, assuming cloud cover isn’t an issue.
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower is created thanks to leftover debris from Halley’s Comet, one of the most famous comets in history. That comet orbits the Solar System every 76 years, and leaves behind a trail of debris that the Earth passes through twice per year.
What’s more, the debris that is sheared off of the comet can be dated back nearly five billion years, or more accurately, to around the same time that the Solar System was born.
Those who want to see the meteor shower are urged to lie flat on their back with their feet facing east and looking up.
The meteor shower will last until dawn, according to NASA.
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