Eta Aquariids meteor shower to light up Australian skies
A stunning light show flashing across Australian skies for the next month is set the peak this week.
The Earth is about to make its annual journey through the brightly burning space debris left behind by Halley's Comet — the meteor shower is known as the Eta Aquariids.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: How to best watch the Eta Aquariids meteor shower lighting up Aussie skies.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
Meteors will be visible in Australia's night skies all month, but will start to ramp up from the early hours of Tuesday, Australian National University astrophysicist and cosmologist Brad Tucker told 7NEWS.com.au.
The best time to catch peak rates Down Under will be between 2.30am and 5am local time on Wednesday and Thursday.
During those peak times, skygazers can expect to see about two dozen meteors each hour.
Milky Way landscape photographer David Magro said meteors can be spotted 'as early as 10pm if you're lucky'.
While Halley's Comet is only visible in the Earth's skies every 75 years, and isn't set to be seen again until 2061, the Eta Aquariids meteor shower is a reminder that the comet is never too far away.
As the comet orbits around the sun, it leaves a trail of debris, and as Earth's orbit annually intersects with that path, those celestial rocks burn up brightly in our atmosphere, creating the phenomenon known as the Eta Aquariids meteor shower.
'We are colliding with these little bits of rock at up to hundreds of thousands of kilometres an hour, so you're seeing them through immense heat,' Tucker told 7NEWS.com.au.
And while the meteor shower will be visible around the world, those watching from the Southern Hemisphere will get the most impressive views, with the Northern Hemisphere expected to see just a fifth of the meteors visible from Australian skies.
How to watch the Eta Aquariids shower
The meteors will appear near a star in the Aquarius constellation known as Eta Aquarii — that's how the shower gets its name.
This is in Australia's northern skies, so that's the direction skygazers will need to face to spot the meteors.
'They can burn up anywhere from there, so you really just want a nice, clear view to the north,' Tucker told Sunrise.
'Give your eyes 10 minutes or so to adjust to the darkness.'
Tucker said that while you won't need binoculars to see the meteors, you might need a little patience.
'While there will be a good number of meteors, you might see a few and then need to wait for a while (to see more), so it's a patient waiting game, but hopefully worth the reward in those early morning skies,' he said.
If you miss the sky show this month, Earth will pass through the wake of Halley's comet again in October for the Orionids meteor shower.
During second annual pass through, the meteors will appear from the constellation Orion.
But skygazers won't need to wait that long for another meteor show — the next meteor show visible for Australians is the Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower, which peaks in late July.
'This produces less meteors than the Eta Aqauriids, but we can definitely see it in Australia,' Tucker said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Ratsak is losing its bite: How to get rid of the rats in your ranks
Black rats commonly found in roofs across Australia are developing a genetic mutation that increases their resistance to rat poisons, which continue to kill large numbers of native birds and frogs. New research shows more than half the studied black rats – the most common form of introduced rats in Australia – had a genetic mutation that indicates some resistance to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, also known as SGARs. Black rats are the most common introduced rat in Australia. In Europe, North America and Britain, brown rats have developed resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides. In one UK study, up to half of the observed brown rat population survived repeated ingestion of rat poison. Experts say the findings are alarming because people might be using larger quantities of poisons to eradicate rats in their homes, thus introducing more poisons into the food chain. SGARs are so potent that they are lethal to secondary predators that feed on rodents, including tawny frogmouths, Australian boobooks and eastern barn owls. Loading Poisons leaching into waterways have also found their way into frogs and toads, while possums and reptiles have also been found to contain SGARs. The poisons work by preventing blood clotting, causing animals to die from internal bleeding. New research led by Edith Cowan University PhD student and environmental toxicologist Alicia Gorbould found a genetic mutation Tyr25Phe – associated with resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides - in the majority of black rats the team studied. Gorbould and her colleagues tested the tails of 191 rats caught between 2021 and 2024 in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ratsak is losing its bite: how to get rid of rats in your ranks
Black rats commonly found in roofs across Australia are developing a genetic mutation that increases their resistance to rat poisons, which continue to kill large numbers of native birds and frogs. New research shows more than half the studied black rats – the most common form of introduced rats in Australia – had a genetic mutation that indicates some resistance to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, also known as SGARs. Black rats are the most common introduced rat in Australia. In Europe, North America and Britain, brown rats have developed resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides. In one UK study, up to half of the observed brown rat population survived repeated ingestion of rat poison. Experts say the findings are alarming because people might be using larger quantities of poisons to eradicate rats in their homes, thus introducing more poisons into the food chain. SGARs are so potent that they are lethal to secondary predators that feed on rodents, including tawny frogmouths, Australian boobooks and eastern barn owls. Loading Poisons leaching into waterways have also found their way into frogs and toads, while possums and reptiles have also been found to contain SGARs. The poisons work by preventing blood clotting, causing animals to die from internal bleeding. New research led by Edith Cowan University PhD student and environmental toxicologist Alicia Gorbould found a genetic mutation Tyr25Phe – associated with resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides - in the majority of black rats the team studied. Gorbould and her colleagues tested the tails of 191 rats caught between 2021 and 2024 in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Declared weed and grain crop threat Gazania found to be more resilient in La Trobe study
Invasive African flower Gazania is more resilient than previously thought and is now considered one of Australia's biggest weed threats to grain production and the native environment. A recent study by La Trobe University's Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and Food found the flower's seeds had a high level of tolerance for light levels, temperatures, soil acidity and salt levels, moisture, and seed burial depth. Considered an environmental weed in Australia, Gazania is widespread across the southern half of Australia, and can be found in WA's Goldfields and southern Wheatbelt area. Introduced to Australia as ornamental plants in the 1950s and 1970s, the declared weed had been found to be infesting grain crops in low rainfall regions in South Australia and resisting farmers' efforts to control with common herbicides. PhD student Muhammad Adnan said thousands of seeds collected from environments across the country showed an ability to adapt to germinate in different environmental conditions. He said that adaptability could see the weed spread more widely across the country and lead to potential high infestation levels. 'While further populations should be compared for emergence response under field conditions, these preliminary findings suggest this weed has the potential to develop significant seed bank in Australian no-till grain systems,' Mr Adnan said. Dr Ali Ahsan Bajwa said the findings should help in predicting regions that could potentially experience Gazania infestation. 'While this information is crucial for managing this highly problematic weed at the establishment stage (germination and emergence), further research is needed on growth and reproductive response of Gazania to different environmental conditions,' he said. 'This will help understand the invasion ecology and develop long-term strategies for different land-use scenarios for this weed, which is rapidly spreading across Australia.' Gazania can be found in a variety of habitats such as open grasslands, cultivated and irrigated sites, stream banks, wastelands, and coastal sand dunes.
