It might seem to you as if meteor showers are one-night affairs, and, it’s true, there’s usually one late night or early morning that’ll provide the best show. But most meteors in annual showers rain down over many days, or even weeks. In 2021, the forecast for May’s Eta Aquariid shower calls for the greatest number of meteors to fall before dawn on Wednesday, May 5. The mornings around that date – May 4 and 6 – might give you a good sprinkling of meteors as well. Note phase of the moon. There’s more moon on the morning of May 4 than May 5. In 2021, on the mornings of May 5 or 6, we don’t expect the light of a waning crescent moon rising near the time of dawn to intrude too greatly.

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.

WEATHER FORECAST

TUESDAY 4TH MAY 2021

Showers easing overnight with clear spells developing these best away from the northwest and north. Some isolated showers will still effect the northwestern and northern coastal areas again some turning wintry. Tuesday night will be cold with temperatures between -1C to 2C

cloud forecast

WEDNESDAY 5TH MAY 2021

Clear overnight across Ulster, Connacht and north Leinster but cloudier across south Leinster and Munster were it will be warmest. Temperatures overnight will range between -3C to 4C coldest across Ulster. There will be a risk of frost away from southern coastal areas. This will be the best night to look for meteors

cloud forecast