Observations of the Swarm from Halley’s Comet. It will reach its maximum in the early morning on Monday night

People will be able to observe the eta Aquarid meteor shower in the sky, which will reach its maximum on the night of Monday, May 6. Observation conditions will be ideal this year, as the moon will practically not be visible and disturb the sky with its light. It is recommended to watch the shower in an easterly direction from the zenith from three o’clock in the morning until dawn, when most of the meteors will be at their brightest. The Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic informed about it. To improve the conditions, it will be good to avoid light pollution.

Meteors fly out of the constellation Aquarius. It is called Aquarius in Latin and is located near the star marked with the Greek letter eta, from which the swarm takes its name. It is active this year from April 19 to May 28, but it reaches its maximum around May 5 and 6. The zenith frequency is up to 50 meteors per hour, which expresses how many meteors can appear in the sky if the place from which the shooting stars appear to fly out, the so-called radiant, is directly above the observer’s head.

Since the eta Aquarid radiant is not in our sky until the morning before dawn, low above the eastern horizon, it is necessary to subtract half of the meteors that can be seen. In addition, a person will not see the entire sky and it will be dawn, due to which the faint meteors will disappear. Nevertheless, according to the institute, many meteors will remain to be seen, as the conditions are ideal thanks to the moon this year. The moon will be in phase just two days before new moon and will be barely visible.

The source of the dust stream that causes the May eta Aquarids is the famous Halley’s Comet. The path of the comet, along which it leaves dust, which then causes the light show, crosses the Earth twice. In October, the Orionids appear in the sky.

Halley’s Comet orbits the Sun once every 76 years, observed meteors in the eta Aquarida swarm may be separated from the comet hundreds of years ago. Halley’s Comet’s current orbit does not pass close enough to Earth to be a source of meteoric activity. It was last observed in February 1986.