We are about to see the Eta Aquarid meteor shower in the early morning of May 6

In the morning of May 6, you will witness the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. This is an average meteor shower, with between 20 and 40 meteors per hour, but if you look at the southern hemisphere, the number of stars will be higher.

The constellation Aquarius is the focal point of this meteor shower that will grow at the eastern horizon after 2 am, so the best time to observe the meteor shower is 3 hours. You can observe the Eta Aquarid meteor shower on dawn from April 21 to May 12, but its climax falls on dawn on May 6.

On 6/5/2017, aiming at the absence of the Moon, you will have a very dark sky to observe the meteor shower well.

The heart of Eta Aquarid meteor shower in the sky

The sky is east at 3 am on May 6. The focal point of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower near Eta star of the constellation Aquarius (Aquarius).

The meteor streaks of Eta Aquarid come from a point near Eta star of the constellation Aquarius, so this meteor shower has its name. Star Eta Aquarii is a star located north of the constellation Aquarius.

More than 3 am , the focus of this meteor shower is high, and soon after it is bright, so you will have less time to observe than you observe in the southern hemisphere, because in the hemisphere male, Aquarius constellation grows earlier.

But you do not need to carefully determine its focus before observing, you just need to look to the east after 2 am on May 5 and 6 to see streaks of meteor emanating from it.

Halley Comet is the original celestial body of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower

When walking in their orbit, Halley's comet leaves a lot of dust, gas falling out, and our Earth will traverse these dust, gas in late April and early May. Meteor occurs when the Earth enters dust, gas, and dust particles, which fall into the Earth's atmosphere and burn. The dust, the gas enters our atmosphere and travels at a rate of about 240,000 kilometers per hour, half of them burn out long enough to glow long.

Our planet passes through the dust, the gas of the comet Halley twice in a year, the other time the Orionid meteor shower occurred on the morning of October 21 every year.

Eta Aquarid meteor and Milky Way.(Author: Mike Taylor).

• Eta Aquarid meteor shower is expected to reach 20 to 40 meteors every hour, but normally when viewed in Vietnam, they are only about 10 meteors every hour.
• When observing a meteor shower, you don't need to use a telescope or a lens, you only need a dark night sky, cloudless and a normal pair of eyes, you can observe it.
• Before observing a meteor, stay away from the light or phone light, leave your eyes in the dark for more than 15 minutes, now your eyes are familiar with the night and will see more stars. .

Note: The ideal time to capture meteor shower is on the morning of Saturday, May 6, from 3:00 until the sun rises . More specifically, the peak density of this rain is up to 40 st / h, instead of just 20-30 streaks like every year.

In addition, there are some observations on NASA's homepage:

• Avoid areas with many artificial lights.
• Be prepared to relax comfortably, can bring a blanket (for those in low-temperature areas at night).
• Look at the sky for a long time until your eyes get used to the dark, then it will be easier to observe.
• Be patient.Watching meteor shower is the most exciting job, but also . the most sleepy.