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Pieces of Halley's Comet

If you missed the famous Halley's Comet back in 1986, you can see pieces of it on the morning of May 6.

 

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is the first of two showers that occur each year as a result of Earth passing through dust released by Halley's Comet a few thousand years ago. The second meteor shower produced by Halley's Comet is the Orionids, which occur in October.

 

Although the Eta Aquarids were first recognized by modern astronomers in 1870, we now know that the Chinese first observed this meteor shower in the year 401. The Chinese continued to record occasional activity into the 11th century. Eta Aquarids are quick meteors and the highest rates can be seen about an hour before morning twilight begins. If an observer has dark skies, it is possible to see up to 20 meteors per hour. Observers in the Southern Hemisphere are luckier because they can see 40-50 meteors per hour.

 

The Eta Aquarids emanate from the constellation Aquarius. They start showing activity around 2:00 am, when the exact point of emanation, called the radiant, rises above the southeast horizon. Although meteors will not then be plentiful, it is possible to see one of the most stunning types of meteors—the Earthgrazer. An Earthgrazer is a meteor that hits the very upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere. They will move slowly and can be quite dramatic as they seem to flicker during their trek across a large part of the sky. Some can cross almost completely across the sky before they burn up! The best time to see these meteors will be between 2:00 and 2:30 am. You must be patient to see these, as only a couple may be seen during that half hour, but it will be worth it.

For more info: Go to http://meteorshowersonline.com/eta_aquarids.html.