Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower

May begins pretty quietly astronomical speaking with Jupiter visible from sunset until about midnight when Saturn rises and is visible until just about twilight the next morning.  The other planets will hide in daylight for the next few weeks.

Toward the end of this first week of May, be on the lookout for the Eta Aquariid meteor shower. The shower peaks Saturday night May 6 into the 7th.

Best viewing will be in the hours before dawn, especially in the 4 am hour with the 88% full moon low on the horizon before twilight before 5 am with 10-30 meteors per hour anticipated in the northern hemisphere. Meteors are the result of debris left by Halley’s Comet.

For the latest, check the meteor shower outlook from the American Meteor Society.

Also next Sunday the 7th, the Moon and Jupiter will be separated by less than 2 degrees. This is an easy event to spot and a good time to ask “do you know what the star next to the moon is tonight? That’s no star, it’s Jupiter!”

Category: ALL POSTS, Spacey Stuff