Getting ready for a meteor shower: it’s happening tonight

Newsroom 05/05/2014 | 13:20

This night, NASA has announced a meteor shower which is available to see from anywhere in the world, whereas ideal viewing conditions are a dark, clear sky away from city lights, especially just before dawn. Each spring as Earth passes through the debris trail from Halley’s Comet (1P/Halley), the cosmic bits burn up in our atmosphere and result in the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower, says NASA. This year, the peak will occur on the night of May 5 and into the morning of May 6, while a dark new moon will help darken the night skies for a good viewing experience, with meteor rates of about 40-60 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.
A visit to the Astronomical Observatory “Amiral Vasile Urseanu” from Bucharest can explain to those interested what other interesting astronomical phenomena are happening this month.

More About the Eta Aquarids

The Eta Aquarids are pieces of debris from Halley’s Comet, which is a well-known comet that is viewable from Earth approximately every 76 years. Also known as 1P/Halley, this comet was last viewable from Earth in 1986 and won’t be visible again until the middle of 2061. The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower gets its name because the radiant — or direction of origin — of the meteors appears to come from the constellation Aquarius.