How and when to watch the Eta Aquarid meteor shower : NPR

Time to roll out your picnic blanket and unfold these garden chairs: A meteor bathe is about to streak throughout the (very) early morning sky on Might 6.

The annual Eta Aquarid meteor bathe is predicted to peak early Tuesday morning with meteors flying into Earth’s ambiance at speeds of 40.7 miles per second, according to NASA. Eta Aquarids come from the leftover comet particles, items of damaged asteroids and different area particles that originate from the well-known Halley’s Comet, which takes about 76 years to orbit the solar as soon as.

With the fitting preparation and an early alarm clock, there shall be loads of alternatives to identify round 50 meteors per hour on the peak of this bathe, in accordance with the U.S. area company.

How and when to view the bathe

The moon will set by roughly 3 a.m. on Might 6, NASA stated, leaving the darkish skies at their most preferrred situation for meteor recognizing till daybreak.

In the event you dwell within the Northern Hemisphere, you may expect to see about 10 to twenty meteors per hour. These residing south of the equator will see a much more lively sky, because of the completely different viewing location of the Eta Aquarids’ radiant — the purpose within the sky from which meteors seem to originate. For Eta Aquarids, that radiant is the Aquarius constellation, which is larger up within the sky within the Southern Hemisphere than it’s within the Northern Hemisphere.

Listed below are some tricks to get the complete expertise, in accordance with NASA:

• Discover an space exterior removed from metropolis or road lights.
• Get comfortable with a blanket or garden chair.
• Lie in your again, place your ft going through east and search for.
• Be affected person! It is going to take a while in your eyes to regulate to the darkness, however don’t fret! The bathe will final till daybreak.