Eta Aquarids : Meteor Shower Peaks
The Eta Aquarids peak this weekend, with up to 30 ‘shooting stars’ visible per-hour on May 6th.
Feature Photo Credit: Colin Legg Photography via EarthSky.com
Skywatchers in Perth and across the Southern Hemisphere get the best views. Those away from the city lights will have the best spot in the world to see the shower.
Perhaps a WA bush Glaming Adventure is in order?
The Eta Aquarids shower’s radiant is to the north, with each shooting star set to be very bright, moving at 240,000 kilometres per hour, as each meteor hits the Earth’s atmosphere.
Space blogs said the Eta Aquarids shower will leave long tails in the early morning sky – a spectacular sight to behold.
The Eta Aquarids meteor show is often active this time of year – in April and May. This year is likely to be one of the best on record.
The absolute peak of the meteor show happens this weekend – during the early morning hours of Saturday – at that point, perhaps up to 40 or 50 sightings will be possible, some space bloggers estimated.
The famous Halley Comet is responsible for the Eta Aquarids meteor shower, the famous comet is visible from Earth every 75-years or so. The Comet won’t be seen from Earth until 2061. October’s Orionid’s Meteor shower is also part of the Halley’s Comet phenomenon.
How to see the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower?
To see the shooting stars from Eta Aquarids, look toward the constellation Aquarius. The Perth Observatory recommends looking to the sky over the Perth Hills, the East around 1-4am Perth time.
“Aquarius will appear in the sky over the Perth hills around 1:45 am so you should go out around 3:00 am and give your eyes 15 minutes to fully adjust to the lighting conditions and look between North and North East. While it’s always best to find a nice park or a large open space for best viewing of a meteor shower, you can go out to our front or back yard and still get a good view,” Perth Observatory says.
Space.com recommends looking up from the ground:
Although Eta Aquarid meteors will appear to originate from the same point, you shouldn’t stare straight at the radiant to find meteors. If you do, you might miss the meteors that create the longest bright streaks across the sky.
The best way to see the meteors, according to Cooke, is to lie flat on your back and look straight up. That way, you get the widest view of the sky, and you won’t have to strain your neck.
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Report what you see – Eta Aquarids
Meteor watching can be both fun and scientifically useful endeavor. To be scientifically useful you must share your data with an active meteor group such as the International Meteor Organization. Entering data is now easy using our online observing report form to share your data. You can also see what other observers have witnessed by visiting the IMO web page dedicated to the eta Aquariids 2017 campaign.
Video: The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower 2015
