Eta Aquarids: Where and How Can You See Falling Debris from Halley’s Comet
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- BBC News World
image source, Getty Images
Meteor showers can be seen with the naked eye.
It’s several decades before Halley’s Comet visits us again, and its next visible appearance from Earth is due in 2061 or 2062, but every year the famous star sends us a memory so we don’t forget it: a meteor shower known as Eta. aurides;
These are the cosmic particles left behind by a comet during its orbit around the Sun, which lasts on average 75 or 76 years.
When these particles come into contact with Earth’s atmosphere – which typically occurs between April and May each year – they create an astronomical spectacle known colloquially as “Meteor shower”.
According to the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, for its English acronym), Eta aquatic organisms move at a speed of about 66 kilometers per second, leaving behind halos that can last a few minutes.
Although this phenomenon appears every year between April 19 and May 28, the maximum activity is expected to occur in 2022 During the early mornings of May 5 and 6.
The Spanish National Geographic Institute (IGN) explains: “The crescent moon will disappear at midnight, allowing Eta aquatic organisms to be observed from the moment the light is above the horizon, four hours after midnight.”
The organization explains in detail that observing this phenomenon “is more convenient than places located in the tropics, such as the Canary Islands, and in the southern hemisphere, although it can also be observed in the northern hemisphere.”
According to IGN, “2022 will be a good year to monitor the aquatic eta fish.
How do you see them?
Unlike many astronomical phenomena, their observation requires special tools or care to avoid damaging the eyes, to see Eta aquariums you only need to raise your eyes to the dark sky.
image source, Getty Images
Of course: It is recommended that you locate somewhere where you can see the whole sky, since these meteors They are usually seen near the horizon.
NASA also advises looking for areas away from the city to avoid the city light.
And it will depend a little on luck, because you will need a clear sky.
“It is convenient to direct the gaze towards the darker regions, in the direction opposite to the position of the Moon if it is observed when it is present,” suggests IGN.
But if you can’t see Halley’s wreck this lap, don’t worry.
In October you will have another chance With the arrival of the Orionids, the second annual “meteor” produced by the fragments of the famous comet.
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