GoKawiilWe've had good reasons to look up at the skies lately: the pink moon last month, the launch and splashdown of the Orion spacecraft, which carried humans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years on the Artemis II mission, and the Lyrids meteor shower in April. And now we have the Eta Aquariids meteor shower.
This shower began on Sunday, April 19 and spans over a month, wrapping up on May 28. The Eta Aquariids shower is known for its fast meteors and persistent tails that stick around for a little longer after the meteor has disappeared. It has an expected peak of roughly 50 meteors per hour, depending on where you're view them.
The 1P/Halley comet feeds it, the same one that feeds the Orionids meteor shower every October. Its peak should be this week, between May 5 and May 6. The further south you are, the more meteors you can expect to see. The best place to view this meteor shower is in the tropics.
How to see Eta Aquariids
Meteors from the Eta Aquariids will appear to originate from the Aquarius constellation, visible on the eastern horizon a few hours before dawn during April and May. Stellarium.org
Meteor showers come with a built-in trick for finding them: They are named for the constellations where the meteors appear to originate. This origin point, known as the radiant, is where you want to be looking.
The Eta Aquariids shower originates from the Aquarius constellation, which spends most of the night of May 5-6 below the eastern horizon. The constellation rises around 3 a.m. local time and will only barely breach the horizon before sunrise a few hours later. If you go out to view the Eta Aquariids, get up high and point yourself east.
If you're having trouble finding the constellation, your best bet is using a sky map app like StarWalk (Android and iOS) or using web tools like Stellarium's Sky Map. Such tools can help you identify where the constellations will be. For meteor shower viewing, all you really need is the general direction, but there's no harm in knowing how to find the constellation.
Tips for viewing meteor showers
The advice for viewing meteor showers is the same, no matter how big or small the shower is. The single biggest advantage you can give yourself is getting as far away from light pollution as you can. This means leaving the city and the suburbs behind in favor of greener, dimmer pastures.
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