The peak viewing period of Eta Aquarid, one of the two annual meteor showers caused by Halley’s Comet, will occur on the nights of May 5 and 6.
A free live stream of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower is available on May 5 [check here for the webpage].
The meteor shower is best observed in the last hours before dawn, which is about 4:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. More specific viewing time windows can be found at the American Meteor Society website.
The shower can be seen with the naked eye. For better viewing clarity, avoid light pollution from city areas.
Eta Aquarid is named after the most “radiant” point in the Aquarius constellation, a bright star Eta Aquarii. The meteor showers take place from April 19 to May 26, 2014, but May 5 and 6 are the days when they are most visible.
Observers can be expected to see “swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs,” according to the American Meteor Society.
Those in the southern tropics will get a better view of Eta Aquarid. In the northern hemisphere, they typically only last at rates of 10 to 30 showers per hour just before dawn.
