Meteor shower this weekend: Just a few weeks after the Lyrid meteor shower passed over the Earth, skywatchers can catch another meteor shower, the Eta Aquarid, over the weekend.
This specific meteor shower will be generated from Haley’s Comet and North American residents can catch its peak on early Sunday morning. However, one will not be able to see Haley’s Comet, as it passes through the inner solar system every 75 years and won’t be due to come around until 2061.
But bits and pieces of the comet, responsible for two meteor showers per year, will be visible, Space.com reported. The first one, taking place Sunday, is referred to as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.
Space noted that viewers can see it only if the skies are dark and clear. In ideal conditions, between 50 and 60 meteors can be spotted per hour during peak times, but it varies.
“In a dark sky, especially at more southerly latitudes, the Eta Aquarids can produce up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour,” the EarthSky website said. “From mid-northern latitudes, you might only see about 10 meteors per hour.”
It added: “However, the broad peak of the Eta Aquarid shower may present similarly strong showings during the predawn hours on Saturday, May 4, and Monday, May 6.”
But for those in mid-northern latitudes, one might only see 10 meteors per hour, the website said.
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