Eta Aquarids meteor shower and Super Flower Moon to occur within same week
The annual shower is typically visible from late April until the end of May, however, peak activity normally occurs on or around May 5 when Earth's orbit passes through the separated debris trail.
By ZACHARY KEYSERThe pink supermoon rises over the Shard skyscraper in an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit, making it appear much larger and brighter than usual, in London, Britain, April 7, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS)
On May 5, Cinco de Mayo, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower will be visible in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres - peaking in the early hours of the night.The meteors seen in the Eta Aquarids shower originate from Halley's Comet, separated from the celestial body hundreds of years ago - considering the current path of Halley's Comet does not pass close enough to Earth's orbit to produce meteoric activity.Halley's Comet spends about 76 years orbiting the sun, the last time it was seen by observers on Earth was in 1986. It is expected to return to the inner solar system around 2061-2062. The Comet, founded by Edmund Halley in 1705, is the only comet that tends to appear twice in a lifetime. Halley predicted that the comet he observed in 1705 was in fact the same comet that has been described by other observers in the past. Sightings have been reported for nearly a millenia, the earliest was depicted on the Bayeux tapestry which chronicles the Battle of Hastings in 1066."Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds a layer of ice and rock into space," according to NASA. "The dust grains eventually become the Eta Aquarids in May and the Orionids in October if they collide with Earth's atmosphere."The annual shower is typically visible from late April until the end of May, however, peak activity normally occurs on or around May 5 when Earth's orbit passes through the separated debris trail."These meteors are fast—traveling at about 148,000 mph (66 km/s) into Earth's atmosphere. Fast meteors can leave glowing "trains" (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes," according to NASA. "In general, 30 Eta Aquarid meteors can be seen per hour during their peak."While the meteor shower's visibility is more prominent in the Southern Hemisphere due to the radiant constellation Aquarius - to which its owes its namesake - being higher up in the sky, northern observers can catch a good glimpse of the meteors, known as "earthgrazers," along the Earth's horizon in the hours just before dawn. The view from the Northern Hemisphere typically produces 10 meteors an hour.To get the best view of the meteor showers, find a dark place away from light sources and light pollution between midnight and 4 a.m. Lie flat on your back with your feet facing east. It is best not to look at your phone for 30 minutes before looking for meteors, as it will take your eyes that amount of time to adjust to the night sky.There is a possibility the visibility of meteor shower will be dimmed by the "Super Flower Moon" expected to appear in the sky on May 7, rising at a shorter distance (361,184km away) from the Earth than normal - called a "supermoon" which can be 14% larger and 30% brighter than a normal moon, according to Science Focus.If the moon is within 10% of its closest distance to the earth at the moment of a full moon, then it is considered to be a supermoon, according the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.So, if you see the full moon during the early nighttime hours of May 7 and think it looks overly large, you are right.This will be the third supermoon of the year, following the "Super Snow Moon" in February and the "Super Pink Moon" in April. However, the "Super Flower Moon" will be the last occurring supermoon until April 2021.April's full moon was the closest supermoon of 2020, and was dubbed the 'Pink Moon' after the pink flowers that start to bloom in the fields during April in some areas of the world.
