Eta Aquarids meteor shower will be at its peak on 6th May.

Eta Aquarids meteor shower – While the shower is active from 19th of April through to the 28th of May, this weekend and on Monday the meteor showers will be at their peak.

The Eta Aquarids meteor per hour rate can vary between 10 – 20 meteors per hour for Perth. This year, the Moon is near its New Moon phase so there won’t be any light pollution to drown out the faint meteors.

What is Eta Aquarids?

The cause of the Eta Aquarids is the famous Comet Halley, named after Astronomer Edmund Halley who first determined in 1705 that the comet was periodic.

The Eta Aquarids are one of two meteor showers caused by Comet Halley, with the other shower being October’s Orionids. Halley’s orbit around the Sun takes 75 years with next entering the inner system again in 2061.

The meteors will seem to appear from the constellation Aquarius which gives the meteor shower its name.

What time to view the meteor shower?

Aquarius will appear in the sky over the Perth hills around 11:30am so you should go out around 4:00am and give your eyes 15 minutes to fully adjust to the lighting conditions as you 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 your front or back yard and still get a good view on a clear night.

Want to know more about space?

Visit the Perth Observatory for star viewing nights, tours and more – perthobservatory.com.au.