Comet Halley begins to rain the Earth with Eta Aquariid meteors

The Eta Aquariids seem to shine from the constellation Aquarius the Water Carrier. From northern latitudes, this constellation rises at about 2:30 local time local time and climbs to 25 ° at dusk.

The meteors come from the dust ejected by comet 1P / Halley during his many trips around the sun. Although this famous comet is currently as far away from the Sun as possible, the debris resulting from its many encounters with the Sun fill its orbital trajectory. When the Earth crosses this stream of detritus, the atmosphere of our planet incinerates the tiny particles of dust, creating streaks of light that we have called meteors, or "shooting stars".

This week, the best views will arrive in an hour or two before morning twilight, when you could see 5 to 10 meteors per hour from a dark site. However, at the height of the shower, early May 6, observers from the northern hemisphere observed up to 20 meteors per hour under a dark sky.

Spectators in the southern hemisphere, where the shower radiator passes almost overhead, should see twice as much. And as the Moon had reached its new phase the night before, we could not ask for better conditions.

For easier and faster viewing tips, check out The sky this week from April 26th to May 5th.