
A meteor shower will peak over Toronto skies early Tuesday. Here's what you need to know about the ‘shooting stars'
Should the weather permit, stargazers across Canada will be treated to the Eta Aquarids meteor shower throughout the month of May — with the annual phenomenon peaking early Tuesday morning.
At its height, observers could potentially see up to 50 fast-moving meteors every hour on a dark night, according to NASA. But here in the Northern Hemisphere, viewers are more likely to see 10 to 15 per hour, said the agency's Bill Cooke.
British Columbia
Canada-linked team finds Saturn has 128 more moons, leaving Jupiter in cosmic dust
The discovery by a team that includes current and former UBC astronomers, brings Saturn's total to 274.
British Columbia
Canada-linked team finds Saturn has 128 more moons, leaving Jupiter in cosmic dust
The discovery by a team that includes current and former UBC astronomers, brings Saturn's total to 274.
Although it's only now approaching its peak, the meteor shower began around April 20 and is expected to last until May 21.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Here's what you need to know.
What is the Eta Aquarids meteor shower?
The Eta Aquarids gets its name from the constellation Aquarius, where the meteors will appear to radiate from.
As a result, the event will be more visible from the southern hemisphere, where Aquarius will appear higher in the sky. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Aquarius will not emerge above the horizon until the early morning — around 3 a.m. EST in Toronto, according to Time and Date.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteors will largely appear as 'Earthgrazers' — long meteors that appear to 'skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon' due to how low in the sky Aquarius will be, NASA's website reads.
Europe
Scientists find possible chemical signs of life on a faraway planet
LONDON (AP) — Astronomers have found possible chemical signs of life on a distant planet outside our solar system, though they caution more wo…
Europe
Scientists find possible chemical signs of life on a faraway planet
LONDON (AP) — Astronomers have found possible chemical signs of life on a distant planet outside our solar system, though they caution more wo…
Given the high speeds of these meteors, travelling at an average 65 kilometres a second, the shooting stars may be able to carve glowing trails in the sky that last several seconds to minutes.
The Eta Aquarids are the result of space debris shed from Halley's comet as it carves its path through the inner solar system — meaning stargazers will technically get a sneak peak of the comet before it can next be seen in 2061.
How to watch the Eta Aquarids meteor shower from Toronto
The Aquarius constellation will rise over the eastern horizon in Toronto just before 3 a.m., before moving high into the southeastern sky towards the break of dawn.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Viewers won't need special equipment to see the phenomenon — just a clear night sky and, ideally, a dark viewing spot away from city lights. Toronto's light pollution may drown out less bright shooting stars.
The best time to watch a meteor shower is just before dawn, when the moon is low in the sky. Unfortunately, the moon will be nearly two-thirds full on Tuesday, which will likely reduce visibility.
The weather might also complicate things. On Monday night there's a 40 per cent chance of showers, with cloud cover overnight, according to Environment Canada's forecast. Tuesday morning will be cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of showers.
'Lie flat on your back with your feet facing east and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible,' according to NASA. 'After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors.'
With files from the Associated Press

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Unsubstantiated ‘chemtrail' conspiracy theories lead to legislation proposed in US statehouses
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state's Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might 'seem strange' or even crazy. Some lawmakers laughed with disbelief and others listened intently, as Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of 'chemtrails' — a decades-old conspiracy theory that posits the white lines left behind by aircraft in the sky are releasing chemicals for any number of reasons, some of them nefarious. As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to 'start looking up' at the sky. 'I'm really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us,' the Republican said. Louisiana is the latest state taking inspiration from a wide-ranging conspiratorial narrative, mixing it with facts, to create legislation. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a similar measure into law last year and one in Florida has passed both the House and the Senate. More than a dozen other states, from New York to Arizona, have introduced their own legislation. Such bills being crafted is indicative of how misinformation is moving beyond the online world and into public policy. Elevating unsubstantiated theories or outright falsehoods into the legislative arena not only erodes democratic processes, according to experts, it provides credibility where there is none and takes away resources from actual issues that need to be addressed. 'Every bill like this is kind of symbolic, or is introduced to appease a very vocal group, but it can still cause real harm by signaling that these conspiracies deserve this level of legal attention,' said Donnell Probst, interim executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. Louisiana's bill, which is awaiting Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's signature, prohibits anyone from 'intentionally' injecting, releasing, applying or dispersing chemicals into the atmosphere with the purpose of affecting the 'temperature, weather, climate, or intensity of sunlight.' It also requires the Department of Environmental Quality to collect reports from anyone who believes they have observed such activities. While some lawmakers have targeted real weather modification techniques that are not widespread or still in their infancy, others have pointed to dubious evidence to support legislation. Discussion about weather control and banning 'chemtrails' has been hoisted into the spotlight by high-profile political officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Recently, Marla Maples, the ex-wife of President Donald Trump, spoke in support of Florida's legislation. She said she was motivated to 'start digging' after seeing a rise in Alzheimer's. Asked jokingly by a Democratic state senator if she knew anyone in the federal government who could help on the issue, Maples smiled and said, 'I sure do.' Chemtrails vs. contrails Chemtrail conspiracy theories, which have been widely debunked and include a myriad of claims, are not new. The publication of a 1996 Air Force report on the possible future benefits of weather modification is often cited as an early driver of the narrative. Some say that evidence of the claims is happening right before the publics' eyes, alleging that the white streaks stretching behind aircrafts reveal chemicals being spread in the air, for everything from climate manipulation to mind control. Ken Leppert, an associate professor of atmospheric science at the University of Louisiana Monroe, said the streaks are actually primarily composed of water and that there is 'no malicious intent behind' the thin clouds. He says the streaks are formed as exhaust is emitted from aircrafts, when the humidity is high and air temperature is low, and that ship engines produce the same phenomenon. A fact sheet about contrails, published by multiple government agencies including NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency, explains that the streaks left behind by planes do not pose health risks to humans. However, the trails, which have been produced since the earliest days of jet aviation, do impact the cloudiness of Earth's atmosphere and can therefore affect atmospheric temperature and climate. Scientists have overwhelmingly agreed that data or evidence cited as proof of chemtrails 'could be explained through other factors, including well-understood physics and chemistry associated with aircraft contrails and atmospheric aerosols,' according to a 2016 survey published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. In the survey of 77 chemists and geochemists, 76 said they were not aware of evidence proving the existence of a secret large-scale atmospheric program. 'It's pure myth and conspiracy,' Leppert said. Cloud seeding While many of the arguments lawmakers have used to support the chemtrails narrative are not based in fact, others misrepresent actual scientific endeavors, such as cloud seeding; a process by which an artificial material — usually silver iodide — is used to induce precipitation or to clear fog. 'It's maybe really weak control of the weather, but it's not like we're going to move this cloud here, move this hurricane here, or anything like that,' Leppert said. Parker Cardwell, an employee of a California-based cloud seeding company called Rainmaker, testified before lawmakers in Louisiana and asked that an amendment be made to the legislation to avoid impacts to the industry. The practice is an imprecise undertaking with mixed results that isn't widely used, especially in Louisiana, which has significant natural rainfall. According to Louisiana's Department of Agriculture and Forestry, a cloud seeding permit or license has never been issued in the state. Geoengineering While presenting Louisiana's bill last week, Coates said her research found charts and graphics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on spraying the air with heavy metals to reflect sunlight back into space to cool the Earth. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 directed the Office of Science and Technology Policy, with support from NOAA, to develop an initial governance framework and research plan related to solar radiation modification, or SRM. A resulting report, which Coates holds up in the House session, focuses on possible future actions and does not reflect decisions that had already been made. SRM 'refers to deliberate, large-scale actions intended to decrease global average surface temperatures by increasing the reflection of sunlight away from the Earth,' according to NOAA. It is a type of geoengineering. Research into the viability of many methods and potential unintended consequences is ongoing, but none have actually been deployed. Taking focus In recent years, misinformation and conspiratorial narratives have become more common during the debates and committee testimonies that are a part of Louisiana's lawmaking process. And while legislators say Louisiana's new bill doesn't really have teeth, opponents say it still takes away time and focus from important work and more pressing topics. State Rep. Denise Marcelle, a Democrat who opposed Louisiana's bill, pointed to other issues ailing the state, which has some of the highest incarceration, poverty, crime, and maternal mortality rates. 'I just feel like we owe the people of Louisiana much more than to be talking about things that I don't see and that aren't real,' she said. ___ Associated Press writers Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this story.


CTV News
13 hours ago
- CTV News
NASA astronaut captures aurora lights from space
Check out this timelapse video of the auroras from space that was captured by NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. NASA astronaut Jonathan Yong 'Jonny' Kim captured an aurora from space in a time-lapse video shared earlier this week. Posted to the social media platform X on Friday, the clip shows the Earth from high above the night sky, with aurora lights dancing over southeast Asia and Australia. A green haze appears halfway through the video, with red and purple coming into view soon after. The video has garnered almost 600,000 views and hundreds of reposts. 'I caught my first aurora,' Kim wrote on X. 'After seeing the result, I told (fellow astronaut Nichole Ayers) this felt like fishing. Prepping the camera, the angle, the settings, the mount, then setting your timer and coming back to hope you got a catch. And after catching my first fish, I think I'm hooked,' his post reads. Kim also thanked Ayers, for showing him how to film a time-lapse. Ayers frequently posts photos and videos of auroras from space on her X account. Kim was appointed a NASA astronaut in 2017. He arrived in space for his first mission to the International Space Station earlier this year aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket that launched on April 8. Prior to his space career, Kim has held various U.S. military positions beginning in 2002.


CTV News
13 hours ago
- CTV News
Timelapse of the auroras from Space
Watch Check out this timelapse video of the auroras from space that was captured by NASA astronaut Jonny Kim.