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Watch observers from the southern hemisphere in the early hours of May 5 to discover Halley's comet's legacy: Eta Aquarid meteor shower at its peak. (Viewers in the Northern Hemisphere can also capture some shooting stars.)
Do you intend to be there when Halley's comet makes his next visit through the internal solar system? According to the best calculations, this famous comet will perform its next rotation around the sun during the last days of July 2061. During the month of August this year, the comet should shine star of zero or first magnitude, with a long tail pointing straight to the west-northwest horizon in the twilight sky late in the evening.
Personally, I would like to see him again; I caught him at his most recent appearance, in 1986. I was 30 years old at the time, but to see him again, I have to hope to live up to the age venerable 105 years old. to see this famous object a second time, it is likely that in the next few days I will see Halley's legacy: a few shooting stars in the dawn sky.
Related: Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower 2019: When, where and how to see it
The orbit of Halley's comet almost intersects that of the Earth at one point in our orbit during the first week of May. Thus, even when the comet is gone for a long time, the dusty debris left as a result of previous visits flows along the orbit of the comet like a cosmic scree. When the Earth crosses this region of space, these tiny particles enter our atmosphere at a speed of about 66 kilometers per second and burn in a heartbeat in a band of burning light. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is the result.
This year, the peak of rain is expected Sunday morning May 5th. The Eta Aquarids are generally the richest of the year for observers of the Southern Hemisphere, bringing 30 to 60 meteors an hour just before dawn if the sky is very dark and clear. Rates are almost as good until around May 10th. Fortunately, the moon is new on May 4 this year and will not cause any interference. Eta Aquarids are fast and often leave long-lasting trains.
In the north-temperate latitudes, the radiant Eta Aquarid – the point in the sky where the meteors seem to flow – never rises very high in the night sky, so the rates are always much lower. The most southerly United States observers usually report only 10 meteors per hour; virtually none is seen north of 40 degrees of latitude.
You could catch a grazer
But if you live in Denver, Chicago, New York, Boston or other northern areas, do not give up hope. You could still see a very special type of meteor: a grazer.
These meteors roam the top of the earth's atmosphere like stones jumping on the surface of a pond. They appear when the radiation of a meteor shower is just above the horizon, ejecting space debris not down, but horizontally above.
But know that the pastures of the Earth are rare. You may be out for hours, and yet, if you see one, watching your night is worth it. Start watching around 3 am in your local time zone. It is at this moment that the constellation Aquarius begins to emerge beyond the east-southeast horizon. At 4:15 pm, dawn rises, so you'll have a little over an hour to hope that a grazer from the Earth will reach you. The brightest Eta Aquarids tend to leave long lasting trains.
Looking for Earth-Grazers is simple: Lay a blanket on the floor, lie down and look up. A reclining garden chair facing southeast is also suitable. Eta Aquarid Grazers move on long paths and head up, flying generally from southwest to northwest. As they are on the outgoing part of their orbits, these meteors arrive mainly in the light of day; this is why their night observation interval is short and occurs just before dawn.
And even if you do not see meteors, you will at least have a glimpse of the stars and constellations that will be visible after-sunset on the mild summer evenings. It is also very likely that you encounter some artificial satellites, imitating "moving stars" as they follow general routes from west to east across the sky. The hours just before sunrise are the best times to see these objects.
Joe Rao is an instructor and guest speaker in New York Hayden Planetarium. He writes on astronomy for Natural History Magazine, Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he's also a meteorologist at the camera for Verizon FiOS1 News in the Lower Hudson Valley in New York. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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