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Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
When is best time to see Halley's comet - Eta Aquarid meteor shower tonight? How to watch
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will light up the sky Monday, May 5 with a chance to see pieces of Halley's comet streak through the night sky. Here's what to know and when to watch. The annual Eta Aquarid showers are best known for their fast and bright meteors traveling at speeds of 40.7 miles per second. They are caused by debris left by Halley's comet when Earth passes through its orbit. Eta Aquarids will be the last major meteor shower until the Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids peak simultaneously between July 29 and July 30, according to the American Meteor Society. This year's Eta Aquarid shower could give stargazers the opportunity to see up to 50 meteors per hour pass swiftly across the sky and leaving glowing 'trains' during its peak tonight, according to NASA. Here's what to know about tonight's shooting stars, when and how to watch. When is the Eta Aquarid meteor shower? The Eta Aquarids are active from April 20 to May 21, and are set to peak between May 5-6 in 2025. While approximately 10 meteors per hour may be observed during the night skies between April 20 through May 21, NASA reports up to 50 meteors per hour may be visible during its peak between May 5-6. What is the Eta Aquarid meteor shower? The Eta Aquarids, or Eta Aquariids, is an annual shower of meteors shooting through the night sky as they come into Earth's atmosphere. When comets come around the sun, they leave a dusty trail of particles and bits of broken asteroids, NASA explains, and every year when Earth passes through these debris trails during its orbit, the bits 'collide with its atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.' The debris that causes the Eta Aquarid meteor shower originates from comet 1P/Halley, which takes about 76 years to orbit the Sun. The infamous Comet Halley is not expected to enter the inner solar system again until 2061. How to watch the Eta Aquarid meteor shower? To best view the Eta Aquarids, find an area well away from city lights or street lights. On a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair, 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. It may take about 30 minutes in the dark for your eyes to adapt and then you will begin to see meteors. It will be an all-night show of spectacular shooting stars. This article originally appeared on When to see Halley's comet? Best time to watch meteor shower tonight
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Eta Aquarids meteor shower to peak Monday night: How to watch
A meteor shower known for the speed of its shooting stars is expected to peak on Monday, according to astronomers. The Eta Aquarids -- a meteor shower that originates from Halley's Comet -- have been active since April 20. But stargazers can witness maximum activity of the Eta Aquarids Monday night into early Tuesday morning, according to the American Meteor Society. At its peak, the Eta Aquarids can release up to 50 meteors per hour, according to NASA. They are also sometimes nicknamed "Earthgrazers," because they are long meteors that appear to skim the surface of Earth's horizon, according to NASA. They are "swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains," but produce very little fireballs, according to AMS. MORE: Two meteor showers will happen simultaneously in April, astronomers say The Eta Aquarids are also known for their speed, traveling nearly 41 miles per second through the atmosphere. The best time to see the meteors are before dawn, according to NASA. Viewers in the Southern Hemisphere have a better view of the Eta Aquarids, but they are visible from both hemispheres. To find them, look toward Aquarius, where the radiance of the Eta Aquarids appears to originate from. The moon will around 60% full, so the lunar light likely won't drown out visibility. MORE: Quadrantids, 1st meteor shower of 2025, expected to peak tonight: How to watch Visibility will be spotty in some parts of the U.S., forecasts show. Rain will be sweeping across much of the Northeast during the pre-dawn hours. The eastern Great Lakes into portions of the Ohio River Valley will see scattered showers and mostly cloudy skies, as will much of Texas -- with the addition of thunderstorms. There will also be visibility issues across the Rockies and western Plains, along with a chance of rain, forecasts show. However, the peak of the Eta Aquarids can extend out several days, presenting more opportunities for viewings with an elevated number of shooting stars when skies are clearer. MORE: Geminid meteor shower peaks this weekend in spectacular show: How to watch The Eta Aquarids will be active until May 28, according to AMS. The dust fragments from Comet Halley appear as the Orionids in October if they collide with Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. For best viewing, NASA advises spectators to lie flat on their back in a region away from light pollution. Meteors should be visible after about 30 minutes, when eyes adjust to the dark. ABC News' Dan Peck contributed to this report. Eta Aquarids meteor shower to peak Monday night: How to watch originally appeared on
05-05-2025
- Science
Eta Aquarids meteor shower to peak Monday night: How to watch
A meteor shower known for the speed of its shooting stars is expected to peak on Monday, according to astronomers. The Eta Aquarids -- a meteor shower that originates from Halley's Comet -- have been active since April 20. But stargazers can witness maximum activity of the Eta Aquarids Monday night into early Tuesday morning, according to the American Meteor Society. At its peak, the Eta Aquarids can release up to 50 meteors per hour, according to NASA. They are also sometimes nicknamed "Earthgrazers," because they are long meteors that appear to skim the surface of Earth's horizon, according to NASA. They are "swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains," but produce very little fireballs, according to AMS. The Eta Aquarids are also known for their speed, traveling nearly 41 miles per second through the atmosphere. The best time to see the meteors are before dawn, according to NASA. Viewers in the Southern Hemisphere have a better view of the Eta Aquarids, but they are visible from both hemispheres. To find them, look toward Aquarius, where the radiance of the Eta Aquarids appears to originate from. The moon will around 60% full, so the lunar light likely won't drown out visibility. Visibility will be spotty in some parts of the U.S., forecasts show. Rain will be sweeping across much of the Northeast during the pre-dawn hours. The eastern Great Lakes into portions of the Ohio River Valley will see scattered showers and mostly cloudy skies, as will much of Texas -- with the addition of thunderstorms. There will also be visibility issues across the Rockies and western Plains, along with a chance of rain, forecasts show. However, the peak of the Eta Aquarids can extend out several days, presenting more opportunities for viewings with an elevated number of shooting stars when skies are clearer. The Eta Aquarids will be active until May 28, according to AMS. The dust fragments from Comet Halley appear as the Orionids in October if they collide with Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. For best viewing, NASA advises spectators to lie flat on their back in a region away from light pollution. Meteors should be visible after about 30 minutes, when eyes adjust to the dark.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower Will Light Up the Night Sky This Week
Getty Images In early May 2025 the annually recurring Eta Aquariid meteor shower will grace the night sky. The meter shower peaks on May 5 and May 6, but the best time to watch it is actually the week prior to avoid interference from the waxing moon. Depending on your location, you can expect to see anywhere from 10 to as many as 50 shooting stars per hour. While approximately 30 meteor showers are visible from Earth each year, the Eta Aquariids (pronounced ah-QUARE-ee-id) have perhaps the most famous parent of them all: Comet Halley. The bright comet was the first to be predicted by astronomers as a recurring event and can be seen passing Earth approximately every 75 years. Every May, our planet moves through the Halley's jettisoned detritus, producing the Eta Aquariid shower. Each meteoroid is smaller than a grain of sand, but they're moving at over 200,000 kilometers per hour, so they have a lot of energy and generate a lot of light when they streak across the heavens. No matter how often you may see it, the excitement of watching this incredible night sky event never fades. Below, astronomer and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Phil Plait breaks down everything you need to know to see the meteor shower this May, including an overview of the science behind what causes this annual cosmic rainfall. The Eta Aquariids is active from April 19 to May 28. However, it's important to plan around the moon phases when scheduling your viewing—as always, the darker the sky the better. On May 5 and 6 the moon sets at around 3:00 a.m. and will be more than half full, so it will light up the sky before setting. It gets brighter and sets later every night leading up to the full moon on May 12, which means the week preceding May 6 may be your best window for catching the show. Showers tend to peak after midnight—this is when the night side of Earth is facing into the direction of its orbit around the sun, so we see the meteors head-on (rather like how rain hits your front windshield when you drive in a storm rather than the rear window). This means the best hours for viewing are late at night or early morning before dawn. 11 Exciting Astronomical Events in 2025—and How to See Them There's plenty of sightseeing to do in the sky, too. The shower should be visible anywhere on Earth, but the Eta Aquariid radiant (more on that later) is somewhat low in the sky for most people in North America, so those located in the United States will typically only be able to see between 10 and 30 meteors per hour. The radiant is directly overhead of people on the equator, meaning the best view will be from countries like Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Uganda, Kenya, and Indonesia. From here, seeing 50 meteors per hour is typical. To see the shower, you want wide-open skies with a clear view. Try to avoid nearby trees and buildings. The meteors themselves zip across the sky pretty rapidly, taking less than a second to burn up completely, so it's easy to miss one. The more sky you can see the better odds you'll have of catching one. You also don't need any special equipment—in fact, binoculars and telescopes restrict your view of the sky, so you should avoid them. Try to get away from city lights and any light pollution, which can wash out fainter meteors and reduce the number you see. I suggest using a blanket or chaise lounge to relax on so you can lie back, relax, and enjoy the show. It's more fun to have friends or family to share the experience with, too. May 2025 Horoscope: Be Selfish on Group Trips This Month Professional astrologer Steph Koyfman reads your monthly horoscope—and spells out how it may shape your travels. Surprisingly, meteor showers come from comets—objects in space made of dust and rocks held together by ice. When comets are far from the sun they are solid, but as they near the warmth of our star the ice turns directly to a gas, releasing the rockier bits. These pieces (which we call meteoroids) orbit the sun along with the comet, slowly migrating away and creating a long stream of debris. When Earth's orbit intersects that debris, the material burns up as it slams into our atmosphere about 55 to 62 miles above the ground. These burning bits are what we call meteors (or, poetically if not terribly accurately, shooting stars). On a typical night of the year you can expect to see five or six meteors per hour, shrapnel from ancient asteroid collisions in the solar system. Sometimes, though, the meteors come in swarms, and we call these events meteor showers. Because the two orbital paths intersect at a specific point in space, meteor showers like Eta Aquariid repeat every year at around the same time (here is a terrific interactive graphic that shows how that works). Due to perspective, the meteors all appear to come from a single point in the sky called the radiant. It's similar to how lights on the side of a tunnel all seem to come from a point ahead of you as you drive through. The meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but all seem to trace their origin back to the radiant. For this shower, that spot is near the star Eta Aquarius, hence the shower's name. Watching a meteor shower is a wonderful way to spend an evening—especially as the weather gets warmer—so be sure to get outside this week and make a wish (or 50) on the parade of shooting stars. Then, get ready for the Perseids meteor shower in August, the most popular of them all. Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler The Latest Travel News and Advice Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our newsletters for travel inspiration and tips Stop Counting the Countries You Visit How Safe Is Flying Today? 5 Things Experts Want Travelers to Know The Best Places to See the Northern Lights Worldwide
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Missed the Lyrids meteor shower? The Eta Aquarids, with up to 50 meteors per hour, is soon
The Lyrid meteor shower lit up Texas skies early Tuesday, giving stargazers the perfect chance to enjoy a celestial display. Though not as dramatic as some of the more famous meteor showers, the Lyrids are a reliable annual event, producing up to 20 meteors per hour at their peak. The shower is caused by debris left behind by Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, which was discovered in 1861, according to Named after the constellation Lyra, the Lyrids are one of the oldest known meteor showers — with records from China indicating it was observed more than 2,500 years ago. Comet Thatcher, the source of the Lyrids, takes about 415 years to orbit the Sun and won't be visible from Earth again until 2276. But if you missed it, don't fret. The Eta Aquarids is just days away. You won't have to wait long for another chance to catch falling stars. The Eta Aquarids meteor shower is already active, and annually comes from April 19 to May 28. Peak viewing is expected on May 5 and 6. This shower tends to be more of a spectacle, producing up to 50 meteors per hour at its peak. It's named after Eta Aquarii, one of the stars in the constellation Aquarius. The Eta Aquarids is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Comet Halley. Earth crosses Halley's orbital path twice a year — once in spring and again in fall. The second crossing creates the Orionid meteor shower, which typically peaks around October 20. Comet Halley takes about 76 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. The next time it will be visible from Earth is in 2061. Unless clouds obstruct the view, Texans will have the opportunity to see the meteor shower in early May. The best viewing will be during the pre-dawn hours, from around 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., when the sky is darkest. Texas is home to several International Dark Sky Communities, designated by the International Dark-Sky Association for their commitment to reducing light pollution and preserving night skies. Dripping Springs, located about 23 miles west of Austin, was the first in Texas to earn this title in 2014 and the sixth in the world. In addition to these communities, Texas also boasts several Dark Sky Places, which include larger natural areas like parks or preserves dedicated to protecting the night sky. These areas typically have minimal artificial light and offer educational opportunities about astronomy. Notable examples of Dark Sky Places in Texas include Big Bend National Park, Enchanted Rock, and Devils River State Natural Area. Here are the areas officially recognized for Dark Sky initiatives in Texas, which will be the best viewing places for the upcoming meteor showers. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Eta Aquarids meteor shower 2025: When and where to watch in Texas
