The Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower will peak tonight with up to 50 shooting stars per hour – this is the best time to see the spectacular display from Britain
One of the fastest meteor showers of the year is just around the corner, astronomers say.
Up to 50 ‘shooting stars’ per hour will streak across the night sky as the Eta Aquariid meteor shower reaches its peak in the early hours of tomorrow (May 6).
Eta Aquariids are known for their impressive speed, traveling into Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of approximately 148,000 mph (66 km/s).
To find them, stargazers are advised to look south towards the constellation Aquarius between midnight and sunrise on Monday.
They can be seen with the naked eye, so you don’t need binoculars or a telescope, but you do need to get your eyes used to the dark.
Eta Aquariids are known for their speed: they travel into the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of about 66 km/s. They are named after the constellation Aquarius as they fall from that point in the sky and specifically after the star Eta Aquarii
A composite image taken over three nights using two cameras of the 2013 Eta Aquariids Meteor Shower
A meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the path of a comet: icy, rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system.
When this happens, the pieces of cometary debris, most of which are no larger than a grain of sand, create streaks of light in the night sky as they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
These streaks are known as shooting stars, even though they are not stars at all.
The frequency of shooting stars – how many you see in a given period – depends on the meteor shower.
But in the case of the Eta Aquariids, you can see 50 to 60 meteors per hour under ideal conditions.
The shower will occur between April 19 and May 28, according to Royal Observatory Greenwich, but will peak in the early hours of Monday.
Although it is best seen from the Southern Hemisphere, those living in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere can catch a glimpse.
Cloud cover can often spoil the chance of seeing meteor showers, although Honor Criswick, meteorologist at the Met Office, said there will be some bright spots in Britain early Monday.
These cloud-free areas include North Wales, the Midlands and parts of East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire.
People in Scotland, Devon, Cornwall, South Wales and the south-east coast of England may not be so lucky.
A meteor shower occurs when Earth passes through the path of a comet: icy, rocky bodies left over from the formation of the solar system
“The central part of Britain is probably the best choice,” Criswick told MailOnline.
“The only caveat is that there is a chance of mist and fog patches, but they should be fairly shallow.”
Because meteors can be quite faint, it is best to look for them in a dark sky, free of moonlight and artificial light, with a wide and unobstructed view of the sky.
‘As with almost any shower, try to find a wide open space as far away from the city lights as possible and fill your view with as much of the night sky as possible,’ says Dr Greg Brown, public astronomy officer at the Royal Observatory Green wich. .
‘Lying on a lounger is a great way to do this comfortably.
‘And although temperatures are still rising, it can still get quite cold in the early morning hours when these showers are best seen, so don’t forget to dress warmly.’
Eta Aquariids are named after the constellation Aquarius as they fall from that point in the sky – specifically the star Eta Aquarii.
The cosmic spectacle is the result of Earth flying through a cloud of debris left behind by Halley’s comet during its final journey through the inner solar system in 1986.
“As Earth passes through the comet’s orbit, any material deposited by the comet can become meteors or shooting stars in the sky,” says Don Pollacco, professor of physics at the University of Warwick.
‘These bodies are usually the size of dust particles, but when they fall into Earth’s atmosphere they travel so fast that they evaporate.
An image of an Eta Aquarid meteor from the NASA All Sky Fireball Network station in Tullahoma, Tennessee, in May 2013
The Eta Aquarids peak every year in early May. Eta Aquarid meteors are known for their speed. These meteors are fast, traveling into the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of about 66 km/s
‘Along the path of the dust particle, the gas molecules overheat and emit light – this is a meteor.
‘We don’t really see the dust, but its evaporative effects on the molecules.’
As Earth crosses the comet’s orbit, the meteors appear to come from the same direction – a point in the sky known as the radiant direction.
There are about a dozen meteor showers this year, but three have already happened and the biggest is yet to come.
The Geminids peak around mid-December and send up to 150 bright shooting stars across the sky.
Besides having the highest number of shooting stars per hour, the Geminids are special because the meteors are multicolored: mainly white, some yellow and a few green, red and blue.
The next major shower is the Delta Aquariids in July (20 meteors per hour), followed by the Perseids in August (100 shooting stars per hour).