Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower, May 2024: Date, Timing, Locations in USA, Canada, UK, India, and the Philippines
Meteor Showers evokes both fantasy and awe and often when we see a meteor which is also sometimes referred as a shooting star we make a wish and hope that it is fulfilled. However meteors are an unpredictable phenomenon but wait what if someone says that today a star gazer can see up to 40 meteor showers in an hour? Sounds like fiction but it is true.
What is an Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Event?
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower are the remnants of the Halley’s comet which left a trail of debris as it made its long and elliptical journey around the Sun. Halley comet visits the solar system once in 75 to 79 years. Last time it visited the solar system was in 1986 and it is expected to return in 2061. The comet as it enters the inner solar system and nears the sun, its ice layers break off as a long tail. The debris remains in the solar system long after the comet has returned to deep space. When the Earth passes through this debris left by the comet, a meteor shower event occurs. There are two annual meteor shower events which happen every year- the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October.
The Eta Aquarids meteor showers are spectacular and the meteors which move incredibly fast at speeds in excess of 44 miles per second leave glowing trains behind them which are a sight to watch.The space rocks travel at high speeds into the atmosphere where friction heats them up until they start to burn and leave a fiery trail behind. Most meteors will burn while they enter the earth’s atmosphere but some rocks survive this fiery ordeal and land on earth. They are known as meteorites.
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower, May 2024 Date
The ETA Meteor Showers are best viewed in the Southern Hemisphere where the number can reach 40 to 50 meteors per hour. The Meteor shower starts from April 15 but its peak will be reached on May 5th and 6th. The shower will originate more from the Aquarius constellation and hence the name Eta Aquariid’.
Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower 2024 Timing
The meteor shower is more likely to be visible in the night sky from 2:00 a.m. local time. From then on, the rates will continue to increase until dawn. However the visibility will be dependent on how much the sky is clear and there should be minimum light pollution. It is best to view the showers in the rural location since both pollution of the air and illumination by street lights are minimal.
