May's "Meteor-ocre" Shower
May 2013 :
Note: This article may contain outdated information
This article was published in the May 2013 issue of The Skyscraper and likely contains some information that was pertinent only for that month. It is being provided here for historical reference only.
The May Eta Aquarid meteor shower is one of the best displays of shooting stars during the year. Unfortunately not here in the northern hemisphere.
This meteor shower peaks on the morning of May 6 at around 3:00 am EDT, one to two hours before morning twilight begins. A waning crescent Moon will rise around 4:00 am EDT.
The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Aquarius, which at peak time will be about 12 degrees above the east-southeast horizon at the 4:00 am hour. While Aquarius is not very prominent, one can still recognize the Water Urn asterism (looks like a Y-shaped group of stars).
The Eta Aquarids are particles shed long ago from Halley’s Comet and left to orbit about the Sun. We see them hitting our upper atmosphere head-on at 41 miles per second at the same time annually. Perhaps with some luck you will be able to observe maybe 15 swift and yellow Eta Aquarids per hour at peak.
It’s even possible you may see a few bright “earthgrazers,” which are shooting stars that blaze long and slow along the horizon. And because the Eta Aquarids are very fast meteors, forty percent of them leave long persisting dust trains when they disintegrate.
So go out and catch a falling star or two on the morning of May 6.
