In 2020, the Eta Aquarids will peak on the night between 5–6 May.

Named After Aquarius

The radiant, the point in the sky where the Eta Aquarids seem to emerge from, is in the direction of the constellation Aquarius. The shower is named after the brightest star of the constellation, Eta Aquarii.

The Eta Aquarids is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Comet Halley. The Earth passes through Halley's path around the Sun a second time in October. This creates the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks around October 20.

Comet Halley takes around 76 years to make a complete revolution around the Sun. The next time it will be visible from Earth is in 2061.

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower favors the Southern Hemisphere; it ranks as one of the finest showers of the year there, in a year when the moon isn’t obscuring the show. At mid-northern latitudes, these meteors don’t fall so abundantly, although people in the southern states in the U.S., for example, tend to see more meteors than those at more northerly latitudes.

In a dark sky – when the moon is down – especially at more southerly latitudes, the Eta Aquariids can produce up to 20 to 40 meteors per hour. From mid-northern latitudes, you might only see about 10 meteors per hour.

THE MOON

Since the bright moon is just two days from full phase it will light up the sky all night, likely squelching all but the brightest of these celestial streaks of light. So, you might ask what's the sense of getting up before dawn to watch? 

The answer is you might still see something spectacular.

For most, perhaps the best hope is catching a glimpse of a meteor emerging from the radiant that will graze our atmosphere horizontally — much the same way as a flat rock can be made to skim across the top of a lake or pond.

Assiduous meteor observers refer to such meteors as "Earthgrazers," and they have a propensity to produce rather colorful and long-lasting trails. Such meteors produce unusually long paths and more often than not appear to move across the sky from a point rather low to the horizon. 

Unfortunately these earthgrazers also tend to be few and far between. But if you happen to catch sight of just one, it will more than justify your getting out of bed and venturing outside at the crack of dawn. 

Radiant point of the Eta Aquariid shower. If you trace the paths of the Eta Aquariid meteors backward, they all seem to radiate from a certain point in front of the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer. This point on the sky’s dome is called the radiant of the meteor shower, which nearly aligns with the faint star Eta Aquarii. Hence, this meteor shower is named in honor of this star.

Eta Aquarii is one of the four stars making up the Y-shaped Water Jar asterism in the northern part of Aquarius. If you can find the Water Jar in the constellation Aquarius, you’ve as good as located the radiant point for the Eta Aquariid meteors. The alignment of the radiant and the star is of course coincidental. Eta Aquarii is some 170 light-years away – trillons upon trillions of miles away – while the Eta Aquariid meteors burn up about 60 miles (100 km) above Earth’s surface.

You don't need any special equipment or a lot of skills to view a meteor shower. Even though all you really need is a clear sky, lots of patience, and our handy Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map with a visibility conditions meter to see a meteor shower, the following tips can help maximize your shooting star viewing experience.

• Find a secluded viewing spot, away from the city lights. Once at the venue, your eyes may take 15 to 20 minutes to get used to the dark.

• Dress for the weather, and make sure you are comfortable, especially if you plan to stay out long. Bring a blanket or a comfortable chair with you—meteor watching can be a waiting game.

• Once you have found your viewing spot, lie down on the ground and look up in the direction of the radiant. Use our Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map or the table above to find the current direction of the radiant in the sky.

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