Look for ‘shooting stars’ from Halley’s Comet as meteor shower peaks this week

The month of May will kick off with some springtime sparkle as the Eta Aquariids meteor shower ramps up to its biggest night.

The 2024 Eta Aquariids have been underway since mid-April, but the shower will get stronger this week until its peak, with the highest concentration of meteors likely on the night of May 4 into the pre-dawn hours of May 5, Space reports.

As a bonus for stargazers, this year the Eta Aquariids’ best night falls just a few days before the new moon, meaning moonlight won’t wash out the view.

Commonly known as shooting stars, meteors are streaks of light in the sky that are created when meteoroids — fragments of asteroids or comets — come into contact with Earth’s atmosphere.

The Eta Aquariids are one of two annual meteor showers that result as the Earth passes through the debris field of Halley’s Comet, which orbits the sun every 76 years. According to the American Meteor Society, some experts predict that this year’s Aquariids will be quite strong due to interactions of those particles with the planet Jupiter.

This particular meteor shower is best seen in the Southern Hemisphere, but viewers at northern latitudes can still look for meteors low in the sky, preferably in the hours before sunrise on the 5th. Under clear, dark skies, you can expect to see up to 30 meteors per hour.

The next significant meteor shower for North American viewers is August’s Perseids.

Meteor shower viewing tips

Be sure to do your stargazing in a place with clear, dark skies, such as a dark sky park or preserve, away from light pollution. Know where you’re going ahead of time; don’t attempt to scout a new stargazing spot in a remote location after dark. Come prepared for current nighttime temperatures with warm clothes and a sleeping bag and blanket, and lie or sit back, taking in as much of the sky as you can. Your eyes need about 20-30 minutes to adjust, after which you should begin to see meteors.