Eta Aquariid meteor shower will peak this week – best time to see it

Keen skygazers have a spectacular treat ahead of them this week – and you won’t want to miss it.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower will reach its dazzling peak in the next few days, bringing up to 40 shooting stars per hour.

The display will be at its absolute best on Wednesday night into the early hours of Thursday morning.

However, any stargazers will have a late night in store, with the best views occurring between midnight and the early pre–dawn hours.

Unfortunately, with the waning gibbous moon over 80 per cent illuminated, the bright moonlight will obscure many fainter shooting stars.

But if you do miss out on seeing the Eta Aquariids at their peak on Wednesday, there are still plenty of opportunities to come.

The meteor shower remains active until May 28, continuing all the way through next week’s new moon.

So, here’s everything you need to know to get the best views of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower this week.

The Eta Aqauriid meteor shower will reach its dazzling peak in the next few days, bringing up to 40 shooting stars per hour. Pictured: A rare green fireball during the Eta Aquariid meteor shower seen in Florida, USA 

Those who want to spot the meteors should look south towards the Aquarius constellation in the early hours before dawn, experts say

What are the Eta Aquariids?

All yearly meteor showers are produced by clouds of rock and dust floating along Earth’s orbit.

As the planet sweeps through these patches of space debris, tiny particles fall into the atmosphere and burn up with a flash.

The Eta Aquariids are produced by the debris left by the famous Halley’s Comet, scientifically known as Comet 1P/Halley.

This ‘periodic’ comet returns to the inner solar system once every 76 years, at which point it can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.

Despite only being recognised as a comet in 1705, scientists now know that sightings of Halley’s Comet date back to at least 240 BC.

Most famously, the comet appeared shortly before the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and was included in the Bayeux Tapestry.

As the comet moves through the inner solar system, the heat from the sun causes its icy surface to break up and crumble away, creating a trail of debris.

The Eta Aquariids are formed from pieces of Halley’s Comet (pictured), a periodic comet which returns to the inner solar system once every 76 years 

Each year, Earth passes through this trail, and meteorites slam into the atmosphere at speeds of 45 miles per second (70 km/s).

Friction with the air heats the rocky particles to around 1,600°C (2,912°F), vaporising them in a flash we see as a meteor or shooting star.

How to see the Eta Aquariids

The Eta Aquariids get their name from the fact that they appear to emerge from a point in the sky in the Aquarius constellation, near the star Eta Aquarii.

As the shooting stars appear in the sky, their trails will all point back to this area – known as the radiant.

Gideon Bendavid-Walker, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the Daily Mail: From the UK, the radiant point in the constellation Aquarius remains low in the pre-dawn sky, so don’t expect the rates you’d see from the southern hemisphere. 

‘The further south you are in the UK, the better.’

However, you don’t need to look directly at the radiant to see the Eta Aquariids, as the shooting stars can appear anywhere in the sky.

The shooting stars appear to emerge from the constellation Aquarius, but you can see them anywhere in the sky after midnight until the end of the shower on May 28. Pictured: The Eta Aquariids captured by NASA’s All Sky Fireball Network 

For the best view, you will need to wait until just before dawn, when the radiant will have risen above the horizon to bring more shooting stars into view.

However, you should be able to see the shower when the radiant is below the horizon from around midnight onwards.

Since the moon will already be fairly bright on Wednesday, it’s important to try to avoid as much additional light as possible.

This means trying to find somewhere with limited light pollution, ideally further away from car headlights, houses, or street lighting that could obscure the meteors.

Dr Shyam Balaji, of King’s College London, told the Daily Mail: ‘Go somewhere dark: Avoid city lights if you can.

‘Let your eyes adjust: It can take about 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to fully adapt to the dark.’

That means avoiding using a torch or checking your phone while you’re sitting and waiting for the meteors.

The good news is that you won’t need any special equipment like binoculars or a telescope to see the Eta Aquariids.

Since they move so fast and appear anywhere in the sky, any device that reduces your field of vision will only make it more difficult to catch the shooting stars as they appear.

The weather may not be ideal in the early hours of Thursday morning, but those in the south and northeast of England should get some clear skies 

‘Your eyes are the best tool for catching meteors,’ says Dr Balaji.

All you need to do is get comfortable, lie back, and keep your eye out for bright streaks of light.

The weather on Wednesday night may not be ideal for stargazing, but there should be some clear moments.

Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the southwest of England will all see fairly heavy cloud cover throughout the evening.

However, the south and northeast of England should have some clear skies and good chances to see the meteor shower.

Mr Bendavid-Walker says: ‘Cloud cover may be an issue, and a bright waning gibbous moon will be up for much of the night, washing out fainter meteors. 

‘Since the Eta Aquariids remain active until around 28 May, if you miss the peak, try again around 16 May- close to the new moon, when skies will be much darker and conditions more favourable.’

After the Eta Aquariids, the next meteor shower won’t be until the slow, yellow fireballs of the Alpha Capricornids make an appearance on July 30.