How to view the Eta Aquarids meteor shower that peaks tonight

Stargazers are in for another treat tonight into early Wednesday with the peak of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. It comes just two weeks after the Lyrid meteor shower dazzled the night sky.

Celestial enthusiasts in the southern hemisphere tropics will get the chance to see around 50 meteors race across the night sky every hour. Those in the northern hemisphere can expect to see about 10 to 30 per hour just before dawn, according to the American Meteor Society.

The Eta Aquarids will be the last major meteor shower until the middle of summer, when the Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquarids overlap, with their peak viewing at the end of July.

🌠 What is a meteor shower?

A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through dusty trails of debris left by a comet or other objects in space while orbiting the sun, according to NASA. While many meteors, or “shooting stars,” can be seen per hour on any given night, a meteor shower occurs when this number increases substantially.

Specifically, the Eta Aquarids come from comet 1P/Halley. Every time Halley comes back to our inner solar system, its debris creates the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October.

It takes about 76 years for Halley to orbit the sun once, meaning the next time it will be in Earth’s neighborhood is sometime in 2061.

🌌 What can I expect to see?

Described by the American Meteor Society as being of strong strength when viewed from the southern tropics, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower typically produces up to 50 meteors per hour, according to Space.com. When viewed from north of the equator, they usually only produce around 10 to 30 meteors per hour.

“These are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs,” the American Meteor Society says.

👓 What’s the best way to view the Eta Aquarids shower?

No special equipment is needed to view the Eta Aquarids. While they will be visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres during the predawn hours of Wednesday morning, NASA says the southern hemisphere is a preferred location to see them more clearly since they’ll be higher up in the sky. In the northern hemisphere, the Eta Aquarids seemingly “skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon” for viewers.

This year, however, the moon will be 84% full, reducing the hourly meteor rate to less than 10 in the northern hemisphere, according to the American Meteor Society.

NASA recommends that viewers find a location away from any light pollution, including city lights and streetlights, to see the Eta Aquarids. For the best view, lie flat on your back with your feet facing east. NASA says that after about half an hour of looking at the night sky, your eyes will adapt and you’ll likely be able to see the meteors.