View the Eta Aquariids meteor shower peak in the night sky

On any given night, far from bright city lights, there’s a chance you’ll see a beautiful streak streak across the sky as a meteor flies overhead. But on special dates throughout the year, skywatchers can catch a large number of flares as meteor showers erupt in the darkness.

Meteor showers form when our planet falls into the debris fields left by icy comets or rocky asteroids orbiting the sun. These tiny particles burn up in the atmosphere, leading to burning trails of light. The regularity of orbital mechanics means that each meteor shower occurs at roughly the same time each year, with the changing phases of the bright moon being the main variable affecting their visibility.

The next event is the Eta Aquariids, one of two showers resulting from the debris field of Halley’s Comet (the other being the October Orionids). Debris will enter the Earth’s equator, meaning it will be visible in both hemispheres around the world. In recent years, the Eta Aquariids have produced 45 to 85 meteors per hour in dark sky conditions.

Unfortunately, the peak for this shower coincides with a full moon on Friday, May 5 to Saturday, May 6, which limits visibility. But the shower should be very active about a week before and after that date.

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How to see a shower

The best practice is to go to the countryside and get as far away from artificial light sources as possible. People in rural areas may have the luxury of just getting out and about. But city dwellers also have options.

Many cities have an astronomical society that maintains a special dark sky area. “I would suggest contacting them and finding out where they have their location,” Robert Lunsford, the secretary general of the International Meteor Organization, said in an interview with The New York Times in 2022.

Meteor showers are usually best seen when the sky is darkest, after midnight but before dawn. To see as many meteors as possible, wait 30 to 45 minutes after arriving at your viewing location. This way your eyes can get used to the dark. Then sit back and take in much of the night sky. Clear nights, higher altitudes, and times when the moon is slim or absent are best. Mr. Lunsford suggested a good rule of thumb: “The more stars you can see, the more meteors you can see.”

Binoculars or telescopes are not necessary for meteor showers and, in fact, limit your view.

How meteor showers form

Each shower peaks on a specific date when Earth plows into the densest part of the debris field, although in some cases many meteors can still be seen before or after that particular night.

A shower is named after a constellation in the part of the sky it appears to come from. But it is not necessary to be perfectly versed in every detail of the celestial sphere. Meteors should be visible all over the sky during any rain shower.