Plaid, night and meteor shower - if you are far from the city and light sources, then these are ideal
What do we know about meteor showers?
The second and last spring meteor shower will peak from May 5 to 6. It will provide a unique opportunity to look at the well-known comet, which is billions of kilometers from Earth.
The Eta Aquarids are one of the best meteor showers in the southern hemisphere, second only to the Geminids, which typically fall in December, says Jonty Horner, an astronomer at the University of Southern Queensland.
Every year, the Earth passes through a stream of debris left by Halley's comet, with meteors emerging from a point in the constellation Aquarius in May.
Most meteor showers form whenEarth flies through pieces and debris from comets orbiting the sun. They are usually very small, about the size of a small pebble or grain of sand, but when they enter the Earth's atmosphere, they burn up in a bright flash of light.
How the Earth passes through the debris stream from the comet
What do scientists know about Halley's Comet?
Most meteors from the Eta Aquarids shower will fall from Thursday, May 5th through the morning of Friday, May 6th.
Now Halley's comet is more than 3.2 billion km from Earth, this is further than Neptune. Its last pass by the Sun occurred in 1986. The next time will happen only in 2061.
Watching the Eta Aquarids meteor showerthis is another way to study the action of a comet, although observing a shooting star is different from observing a comet in the sky. The flash of light from a meteor lasts only a few seconds, while a comet can be observed for weeks, sometimes months - it seems that it flies slowly through the night sky.
Where is the best place to watch a meteor shower?
Eta Aquarids will be active from April 19 to May 28: the stream can be observed in two hemispheres of the Earth. Meteors will fly out quickly from the constellation of Aquarius.
The press service of the Moscow Planetarium said:that it is best to observe the stream in cloudless and clear weather. For example, in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region the stream will be visible on the night of May 5 and 6 from 0:40 to 1:20.
Residents of the Moscow region will be able to see the Eta Aquarids on the night of May 5, as well as from May 7 to 8 and from May 8 to 9.
But experts advise watching the flow if youyou are on or south of the 45th parallel north. Ideal conditions can be obtained at the equator and in the southern hemisphere. But in the northern hemisphere, this stream is practically unobservable, especially in the middle latitudes.
It is noted that optimal conditions for observation can be obtained from Australia, Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina.
Meteor shower tips
If you are going to watch a meteoriteflow of eta-Aquarids, then you need to be patient. On a peak night, up to 30 meteors can be seen every hour, but they likely won't be visible at regular intervals.
It happens that there are flashes of four or five meteors within a few minutes, and then nothing is visible for 10 or 15 minutes.
In addition, the eyes need 15 to 20 minutes tocompletely get used to the darkness. Only after they have adapted will it be possible to see dimmer meteors. You can also observe satellites moving slowly across the sky.
It is important not to look at light sources, such as a mobile phone screen, once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness in the open air.
Experts also emphasize that there isnoticeability rate. It lies in the fact that one person will not be able to see all the passing meteors. Even if a group of several people is looking at the night sky, they will not be able to count all the meteors.
And the last:experts recommend watching the stream with a wide view. The meteors will shine near the constellation Aquarius, but may appear anywhere in the sky. If the observer has a wide view of the sky, then the chances of spotting a shooting star are higher.
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