Where can you see Eta Aquarids meteor shower? What to know in Michigan
Michigan stargazers will soon get the chance to glimpse spring's next meteor shower, the Eta Aquarids.
The Eta Aquarids meteor shower will peak May 5-6, according to NASA. The annual shower can bring fast meteors, with up to 50 per hour during the peak.
Spring's previous meteor shower, the Lyrids, peaked in late April.
Here's what to know.
The Eta Aquarids, or Eta Aquariids, is an annual shower of meteors shooting through the night sky as they come into Earth's atmosphere, per NASA. The meteors appear in the area of the constellation Aquarius in the sky.
The Eta Aquarid runs April 20 to May 21, NASA says. The meteor shower will peak May 5-6.
Look for a clear, open area to view the meteors in Michigan's skies. Keep an eye on the weather forecast closer to the peak to find out local viewing chances.
Michigan is home to six dark sky state parks, three international dark sky parks and an international dark sky sanctuary.
The Alpena area has three Dark Sky Preserves: Rockport State Recreation Area, Thompson's Harbor State Park and Negwegon State Park.
In Mackinaw City, Headlands International Dark Sky Park.
In Empire, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
In Munising, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
In Paradise, the Great Lakes Museum and Whitefish Point Light Station and Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
In Port Austin, Port Crescent State Park.
In Clayton, Lake Hudson Recreation Area.
In Carp Lake, Wilderness State Park.
Keweenaw Dark Sky Park in Keweenaw County and Dr. T.K. Lawless Park in Cass County are international spots. And, finally, the Beaver Island State Wildlife Research Area is an international sanctuary.
The Eta Aquarids can be viewed during the pre-dawn hours, NASA said. While viewing chances will be better in the southern hemisphere, Michigan viewers could glimpse "earthgrazers," long meteors near the horizon.
Bill Cooke, the lead for the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, suggested viewing the meteors from 2 a.m. until dawn, per Space.com.
"The Etas are not a shower that you can go out to see after sunset because the radiant won't be up," Cooke wrote.
Here are some general viewing tips from the space agency:
Find an area well away from street lights and the light pollution of cities.
Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair.
Lie flat on your back with your feet facing the east and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible.
It should take less than 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt so that you can see streaking meteors. But be patient, NASA warns: the show will last until dawn.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through dusty debris trails left by comets and broken asteroid bits as they orbit the sun, NASA says. The debris collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.
The Eta Aquarids debris comes from comet 1P/Halley, named for English astronomer Edmond Halley, who discovered it in 1705, NASA said. The comet is expected to next enter the inner solar system in 2061, as it takes 76 years to orbit the sun.
The Delta Aquariid meteor shower is set to peak July 30, 2025, per EarthSky.org.
Those are words that sound similar, but there are important differences.
More: April's Pink Moon is waning. When is the next full moon over Michigan?
Meteoroid: A body in space. Asteroids are larger rocks in space, but there's no official distinction.
Meteor: A body passing through the atmosphere. If the meteor is large enough to show some dimensions or sparks, it's often called a fireball.
Meteorite: A meteor that survives the fall to the Earth's surface.
Meteor shower: When we see a lot of meteors streaking across the sky in a small amount of time, usually a matter of a few days.
More: Bird migration map 2025: How to track their journey to Michigan
The next full moon, May's Flower Moon, will peak in mid-May.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eta Aqaurids meteor shower: When to see it in Michigan
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