Eta Aquariid meteor coming straight from its radiant point – the Water Jar asterism in the constellation Aquarius, visible in the top left of this photo – captured by Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, on May 4, 2020. Thank you, Eliot!
It might seem to you as if meteor showers are one-night affairs, and, it’s true, there’s usually one late night or early morning that’ll provide the best show. But most meteors in annual showers rain down over many days, or even weeks. In 2021, the forecast for May’s Eta Aquariid shower calls for the greatest number of meteors to fall before dawn on Wednesday, May 5. But don’t discount Tuesday and Thursday. This shower has a broad maximum, so you might see a lot of meteors on those mornings, too.
You will have to watch out for the moon, however. In 2021, on the mornings of May 5 or 6, we don’t expect the light of a waning crescent moon – rising near the time of dawn – to intrude too greatly. There will be a brighter waning moon lighting up more of the predawn hours on May 4. And there will be an even brighter waning moon on the mornings of May 3, 2, 1 and so on. On the morning of May 3, the moon will be at or near its half-illuminated last quarter phase, and the brighter moonlight may well wash some Eta Aquariid meteors from view. That said, the moon might also add a little something to your early-morning meteor drama, as the moon joins up with the bright morning planets, Jupiter and Saturn, on May 3, 4 and 5. See the chart below:
Watch for the moon near Jupiter and Saturn, especially on the mornings of May 3, 4 and 5. Moonlight might somewhat hamper the viewing of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in 2021. But there are ways to work around the moon as we explain later on in this post. Note: The moon appears larger on our sky chart than it does in the real sky.
Want to try watching for Eta Aquariid meteors in brighter moonlight on the mornings of May 1, 2, 3 or 4? Here are some tips:
1. Sprawl out in a moon shadow. Notice that the moon casts shadows. Find a moon shadow somewhere that still provides you with a wide expanse of sky for meteor-viewing. A plateau area with high-standing mountains to block out the moon would work just fine. If you can’t do that, find a hedgerow of trees bordering a wide open field (though obtain permission, if it’s private land). Or simply sit in the shadow of a barn or other building. Ensconced within a moon shadow, and far from the glow of city lights, the night all of a sudden darkens while the meteors brighten.
2. Avoid city lights. We know you know this, but just a reminder. A wide open area – a field or a lonely country road – is best if you’re serious about watching meteors. Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze to find a dark location near you.
3. Watch with a friend or friends, and try facing in different directions so that if someone sees a meteor, that person can call out “Meteor!” to the rest.
4. Notice the speed and colors, if any, of the meteors.
5. Watch for meteor trains. A meteor train is a persistent glow in the air left by some meteors after they have faded from view. Trains are caused by luminous ionized matter left in the wake of this incoming space debris. Hard to see in the moonlight, but watch for them!
6. Embrace the moon. We hear people bubble with excitement about seeing meteors in all sorts of conditions – moon or no moon – city lights or no city lights. And so, this week, try taking your lawn chair or blanket to a wide open location and enjoy the waning crescent moon and morning planets, Jupiter and Saturn. You’ll see an occasional meteor streak by. It’ll be beautiful!
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The 2013 Eta Aquariid meteor shower was fantastic as viewed from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. Colin Legg of Australia created this composite of his experience. He wrote, “Composite of approximately 50 images containing 26 meteors, meteor train, 17% moon, zodiacal light and Pilbara desert.”
Meteor captured over Mount Bromo, an active volcano in Indonesia, during the 2013 Eta Aquariid shower. Photo by Justin Ng of Singapore. See more photos by Justin Ng.
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere; it ranks as one of the finest showers of the year there. At mid-northern latitudes, these meteors don’t fall so abundantly, although people in the southern states in the U.S., for example, tend to see more meteors than those at more northerly latitudes.
In a dark sky – when the moon is down – especially at more southerly latitudes, the Eta Aquariids can produce up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour. From mid-northern latitudes, you might only see about 10 meteors per hour.
Why more Eta Aquariid meteors in the Southern Hemisphere?
In general, the best time to watch these fast and often bright meteors is in the hour or two before the onset of morning twilight. Don’t know when twilight begins in your part of the world? Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars and remember to check the astronomical twilight box.
Want to know the time of moonrise in your area? Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars, and check the moonrise and moonset box, to find out when the moon sets in your sky.
Give yourself at least an hour of viewing time for watching any meteor shower. Meteors tend to come in spurts that are interspersed by lulls. Also, it can take as long as 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark.
You need no special equipment to watch a meteor shower, but a little luck always helps. Find a dark, open sky away from artificial lights, and sprawl out on a reclining lawn chair. Meteor watching is a lot like fishing. Sometimes you catch a good number of them, and sometimes you don’t.
Radiant point of Eta Aquariid meteor shower. It’s in the constellation Aquarius, in the southeast before dawn on May mornings, as seen from mid-northern latitudes.
A Y-shaped asterism called the Water Jar marks the radiant of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. It’s noticeable, if your sky is dark.
Radiant point of the Eta Aquariid shower. If you trace the paths of the Eta Aquariid meteors backward, they all seem to radiate from a certain point in front of the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer. This point on the sky’s dome is called the radiant of the meteor shower, which nearly aligns with the faint star Eta Aquarii. Hence, this meteor shower is named in honor of this star.
Eta Aquarii is one of the four stars making up the Y-shaped Water Jar asterism in the northern part of Aquarius. If you can find the Water Jar in the constellation Aquarius, you’ve as good as located the radiant point for the Eta Aquariid meteors. The alignment of the radiant and the star is of course coincidental. Eta Aquarii is some 170 light-years away – trillions upon trillions of miles away – while the Eta Aquariid meteors burn up about 60 miles (100 km) above Earth’s surface.
Meteor shower radiants are sometimes misunderstood by casual meteor-watchers. You don’t need to know where they are to watch a meteor shower. That’s because the meteors fly every which way across the sky, in front of numerous constellations. However, the higher a shower’s radiant appears in your sky, the more meteors you’re likely to see. For the Eta Aquariids, the radiant soars highest in the nighttime sky just before dawn. That’s why you can expect to see the most meteors in the wee morning hours.
You can see some Eta Aquariid meteors in late evening, before the radiant rises into your sky. In fact, late evening is the best time to see earthgrazers, meteors that make exceptionally long streaks across your sky. As the radiant rises higher – that is, as the hours of the night tick away to dawn – you’ll see shorter meteors, but more meteors.
Halley’s comet, the parent of the May Eta Aquariid and October Orionid meteor showers. Dust from this comet will streak the nighttime as Eta Aquariid meteors on the mornings of May 5 and 6. Image via NASA Blueshift.
Halley’s comet is the source of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. Every year, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of Halley’s comet in late April and May, so bits and pieces from this comet light up the nighttime as Eta Aquariid meteors. This shower is said to be active from April 19 to May 20, although Earth plows most deeply into this stream of comet debris around May 5 or 6.
The comet dust smashes into Earth’s upper atmosphere at nearly 150,000 miles per hour (240,000 km per hour). Roughly half of these swift-moving meteors leave persistent trains – ionized gas trails that glow for a few seconds after the meteor has passed.
Our planet also crosses the orbital path of Halley’s comet at the other end of the year, giving rise to the Orionid meteor shower, which is usually at its best in the predawn hours on or near October 21.
Bottom line: What’s a good meteor shower for the Southern Hemisphere? It’s usually the Eta Aquariid shower. The waning moon may interfere a bit with viewing in 2021, but there are ways to work around the moon.
EarthSky’s meteor shower guide for 2021
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/1pRgiL8
Eta Aquariid meteor coming straight from its radiant point – the Water Jar asterism in the constellation Aquarius, visible in the top left of this photo – captured by Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, on May 4, 2020. Thank you, Eliot!
It might seem to you as if meteor showers are one-night affairs, and, it’s true, there’s usually one late night or early morning that’ll provide the best show. But most meteors in annual showers rain down over many days, or even weeks. In 2021, the forecast for May’s Eta Aquariid shower calls for the greatest number of meteors to fall before dawn on Wednesday, May 5. But don’t discount Tuesday and Thursday. This shower has a broad maximum, so you might see a lot of meteors on those mornings, too.
You will have to watch out for the moon, however. In 2021, on the mornings of May 5 or 6, we don’t expect the light of a waning crescent moon – rising near the time of dawn – to intrude too greatly. There will be a brighter waning moon lighting up more of the predawn hours on May 4. And there will be an even brighter waning moon on the mornings of May 3, 2, 1 and so on. On the morning of May 3, the moon will be at or near its half-illuminated last quarter phase, and the brighter moonlight may well wash some Eta Aquariid meteors from view. That said, the moon might also add a little something to your early-morning meteor drama, as the moon joins up with the bright morning planets, Jupiter and Saturn, on May 3, 4 and 5. See the chart below:
Watch for the moon near Jupiter and Saturn, especially on the mornings of May 3, 4 and 5. Moonlight might somewhat hamper the viewing of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower in 2021. But there are ways to work around the moon as we explain later on in this post. Note: The moon appears larger on our sky chart than it does in the real sky.
Want to try watching for Eta Aquariid meteors in brighter moonlight on the mornings of May 1, 2, 3 or 4? Here are some tips:
1. Sprawl out in a moon shadow. Notice that the moon casts shadows. Find a moon shadow somewhere that still provides you with a wide expanse of sky for meteor-viewing. A plateau area with high-standing mountains to block out the moon would work just fine. If you can’t do that, find a hedgerow of trees bordering a wide open field (though obtain permission, if it’s private land). Or simply sit in the shadow of a barn or other building. Ensconced within a moon shadow, and far from the glow of city lights, the night all of a sudden darkens while the meteors brighten.
2. Avoid city lights. We know you know this, but just a reminder. A wide open area – a field or a lonely country road – is best if you’re serious about watching meteors. Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze to find a dark location near you.
3. Watch with a friend or friends, and try facing in different directions so that if someone sees a meteor, that person can call out “Meteor!” to the rest.
4. Notice the speed and colors, if any, of the meteors.
5. Watch for meteor trains. A meteor train is a persistent glow in the air left by some meteors after they have faded from view. Trains are caused by luminous ionized matter left in the wake of this incoming space debris. Hard to see in the moonlight, but watch for them!
6. Embrace the moon. We hear people bubble with excitement about seeing meteors in all sorts of conditions – moon or no moon – city lights or no city lights. And so, this week, try taking your lawn chair or blanket to a wide open location and enjoy the waning crescent moon and morning planets, Jupiter and Saturn. You’ll see an occasional meteor streak by. It’ll be beautiful!
Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!
The 2013 Eta Aquariid meteor shower was fantastic as viewed from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere. Colin Legg of Australia created this composite of his experience. He wrote, “Composite of approximately 50 images containing 26 meteors, meteor train, 17% moon, zodiacal light and Pilbara desert.”
Meteor captured over Mount Bromo, an active volcano in Indonesia, during the 2013 Eta Aquariid shower. Photo by Justin Ng of Singapore. See more photos by Justin Ng.
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere; it ranks as one of the finest showers of the year there. At mid-northern latitudes, these meteors don’t fall so abundantly, although people in the southern states in the U.S., for example, tend to see more meteors than those at more northerly latitudes.
In a dark sky – when the moon is down – especially at more southerly latitudes, the Eta Aquariids can produce up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour. From mid-northern latitudes, you might only see about 10 meteors per hour.
Why more Eta Aquariid meteors in the Southern Hemisphere?
In general, the best time to watch these fast and often bright meteors is in the hour or two before the onset of morning twilight. Don’t know when twilight begins in your part of the world? Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars and remember to check the astronomical twilight box.
Want to know the time of moonrise in your area? Visit Sunrise Sunset Calendars, and check the moonrise and moonset box, to find out when the moon sets in your sky.
Give yourself at least an hour of viewing time for watching any meteor shower. Meteors tend to come in spurts that are interspersed by lulls. Also, it can take as long as 20 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark.
You need no special equipment to watch a meteor shower, but a little luck always helps. Find a dark, open sky away from artificial lights, and sprawl out on a reclining lawn chair. Meteor watching is a lot like fishing. Sometimes you catch a good number of them, and sometimes you don’t.
Radiant point of Eta Aquariid meteor shower. It’s in the constellation Aquarius, in the southeast before dawn on May mornings, as seen from mid-northern latitudes.
A Y-shaped asterism called the Water Jar marks the radiant of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. It’s noticeable, if your sky is dark.
Radiant point of the Eta Aquariid shower. If you trace the paths of the Eta Aquariid meteors backward, they all seem to radiate from a certain point in front of the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer. This point on the sky’s dome is called the radiant of the meteor shower, which nearly aligns with the faint star Eta Aquarii. Hence, this meteor shower is named in honor of this star.
Eta Aquarii is one of the four stars making up the Y-shaped Water Jar asterism in the northern part of Aquarius. If you can find the Water Jar in the constellation Aquarius, you’ve as good as located the radiant point for the Eta Aquariid meteors. The alignment of the radiant and the star is of course coincidental. Eta Aquarii is some 170 light-years away – trillions upon trillions of miles away – while the Eta Aquariid meteors burn up about 60 miles (100 km) above Earth’s surface.
Meteor shower radiants are sometimes misunderstood by casual meteor-watchers. You don’t need to know where they are to watch a meteor shower. That’s because the meteors fly every which way across the sky, in front of numerous constellations. However, the higher a shower’s radiant appears in your sky, the more meteors you’re likely to see. For the Eta Aquariids, the radiant soars highest in the nighttime sky just before dawn. That’s why you can expect to see the most meteors in the wee morning hours.
You can see some Eta Aquariid meteors in late evening, before the radiant rises into your sky. In fact, late evening is the best time to see earthgrazers, meteors that make exceptionally long streaks across your sky. As the radiant rises higher – that is, as the hours of the night tick away to dawn – you’ll see shorter meteors, but more meteors.
Halley’s comet, the parent of the May Eta Aquariid and October Orionid meteor showers. Dust from this comet will streak the nighttime as Eta Aquariid meteors on the mornings of May 5 and 6. Image via NASA Blueshift.
Halley’s comet is the source of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. Every year, our planet Earth crosses the orbital path of Halley’s comet in late April and May, so bits and pieces from this comet light up the nighttime as Eta Aquariid meteors. This shower is said to be active from April 19 to May 20, although Earth plows most deeply into this stream of comet debris around May 5 or 6.
The comet dust smashes into Earth’s upper atmosphere at nearly 150,000 miles per hour (240,000 km per hour). Roughly half of these swift-moving meteors leave persistent trains – ionized gas trails that glow for a few seconds after the meteor has passed.
Our planet also crosses the orbital path of Halley’s comet at the other end of the year, giving rise to the Orionid meteor shower, which is usually at its best in the predawn hours on or near October 21.
Bottom line: What’s a good meteor shower for the Southern Hemisphere? It’s usually the Eta Aquariid shower. The waning moon may interfere a bit with viewing in 2021, but there are ways to work around the moon.
EarthSky’s meteor shower guide for 2021
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/1pRgiL8
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