NASA has said the Eta Aquariid meteor shower would put on a spectacular sky show with meteor speeds of up to one per minute. Meteors will streak across the sky as Earth moves through dusty debris in space left behind by Halley's Comet during the annual Eta Aquariid meteor shower, with peak activity this weekend.
Everything you need to know about the eta Aquariid meteor shower
The Eta Aquariid meteor gets its name from the fact that the origin point in the sky – called the radiant – for the debris burning up in the atmosphere is in the constellation Aquarius – the 'water bearer' – and close to Eta Aquarii, one of the brightest constellations. stars and one of the four stars that form the top of his 'water jar', as reported by Reuters.
NASA states that Eta Aquariid meteors are exceptionally fast, traveling at about 148,000 miles per hour (238,000 kilometers per hour) as they enter Earth's atmosphere. These fast-moving meteors can create glowing 'trains' that last for seconds to minutes.
According to the American Meteor Society, meteor numbers are expected to increase this year as debris is disrupted by the gas giant planet Jupiter in a direction closer to Earth.
Commenting on the meteor shower, Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said that many of the shooting stars we see this year are caused by material from Halley's Comet that is about 3000 years old. . He added that when Earth crosses this debris, we can see streaks of light in the sky. Sometimes, when the Earth moves through dense clumps of material, a meteor burst is experienced, resulting in a greater number of meteors visible in the sky.
When and where can you watch the Eta Aquariid meteor shower?
According to NASA, the typical peak time would normally be the night of May 4 into the morning of May 5. However, because of the eruption, May 2-6 could provide excellent skywatching opportunities. According to the American Meteor Society, the meteors can be seen before sunrise in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The US space agency also added that the next time the eta Aquariids will erupt will be in about twenty years.
(With input from Reuters)
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Published: May 4, 2024 10:00 AM IST