How to Watch Tonight's Meteor Shower
- par Amanda Heroux
- dans Science
- — Nov 25, 2020
The good news is that sky watchers will not need any special equipment to watch this event but, as always, it is best to have patience since meteors tend to come in short bursts with some pauses in between. Wanna go to the movies? But although this may make it harder to pick out as many meteors, it also means the entire sky will be putting on a show, amateur astronomer Ian Musgrave told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). So, maybe you can at least wish on a falling star for these events to get kicking again? On average, you can see up to 20-40 meteors per hour. The meteor shower will continue to be visible through the rest of the month. "If you're comfortable, you're gonna see a lot more activity".
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which occurs every May, is set to light up the sky across the Southern Hemisphere, and will be at its peak in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
It should be borne in mind that the best places to see meteor showers are the darkest places, which are the places away from residential areas that contain light and environmental pollutants that may hinder the meteor's vision, while the best times to see them are from midnight until dawn the next day.
The Sydney Observatory said the shower "offers returns for early risers", who should look east between 3.30am and 5.30am for the absolute best peak time. The Super Flower Moon on May 7 Following right on the heels of the Eta Aquarids, and right when the meteor showers will be peaking - is the "Super Flower Moon", and it will be the fourth and final supermoon of 2020.
If you're in Australia, then you're in luck, as that's apparently at the most beneficial angle to see the shower in full force.
Those in the Northern Hemisphere may expect to witness about 10 to 30 meteors per hour. Every time that the comet passes our solar system, it sheds a layer of dust, ice and rock, with some of the grains colliding with the Earth's atmosphere and ending up as the Eta Aquariids in May and the Orionids in October.
If you just happen to be stuck and can't seem to get out to see the display, don't worry because it has a broad peek so you will still be able to see some meteors on the surrounding nights. But you can still use them to get a better look at Mars.
What is the Eta Aquariid meteor shower?
Hobby astronomer and founder of Under Lucky Stars Zoltan Toth-Czifra says spectators won't need a pair of binoculars or a telescope to catch it.
Furthermore, you also want to have a scan of the full sky, rather than just staring in the one direction.
