How to catch the Eta Aquarid meteor shower this May

There’s plenty happening this winter – at least where the sky is concerned. Australia is set for another celestial show when the Eta Aquarid meteor shower lights up the skies this May. Here’s how to catch it.

 

When to see the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in Australia

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is active for several weeks, but the best chance to see it will be on the night of May 6 into the morning of May 7.

For Australia, the most rewarding viewing window will be roughly 2am to sunrise — when the sky is at its darkest and the radiant point sits higher in the sky.

Here’s a general guide for the best time to look up, based on your location in Australia:

• Sydney: roughly 2am – 5:30am
• Melbourne: roughly 2am – 6am
• Brisbane: roughly 2am – 5:30am
• Perth: roughly 1:30am – 5:30am
• Canberra: roughly 2am – 5:45am
• Adelaide: roughly 1:45am – 5:45am
• Hobart: roughly 2:15am – 6am
• Darwin: roughly 1:30am – 5am

At peak, conditions can produce up to around 50 meteors per hour, though like all meteor showers, activity comes in waves. You might wait in stillness for several minutes, then suddenly catch a burst of bright streaks in quick succession.

 

Do you need any equipment to see the meteor shower?

No, just just patience and preferably dark skies.

For optimal viewing, find a location away from city lights. Beaches, national parks and coastal headlands tend to offer the clearest vantage points.

You should also give your eyes around 20–30 minutes to adjust to the dark. It’s worth resisting the urge to check your phone, because even brief flashes of light can reset your ‘night vision’ and make the meteors harder to see.

And while the radiant sits in Aquarius, meteors can appear anywhere across the sky, so there’s no need to stare in one fixed direction.

 

What the Eta Aquarid meteor shower actually is

The Eta Aquarids are fragments shed by Halley’s Comet, one of the most well-known comets to orbit the Sun.

As Earth passes through this debris trail each year, tiny particles collide with our atmosphere at incredible speed, burning up and creating the bright streaks we recognise as shooting stars. The Eta Aquarids are particularly known for their velocity — they tend to appear faster and sharper than other meteor showers.

The name comes from the constellation Aquarius, specifically the star Eta Aquarii, which is near the area of sky where the meteors appear to radiate from.

 

 

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Feature image by Will Li via Unsplash.