Sydney stargazers, this one’s for you. Early in the morning on Sunday, May 5, and then again (early) on Monday, May 6, Australian skies will come alive with an extremely bright meteor shower that goes by the name of Eta Aquariid. The annual meteor shower – which is formed from debris from Halley’s comet – will light up the sky above Australia this weekend, peaking early on Monday morning. That start-of-week meeting might suffer, but this year’s show is predicted to be the best in the 21st century.
The Eta Aquariid shower is a fast-moving and notoriously unpredictable show, and scientists say that according to their models, the meteors should be unusually active this year – with their high speed also making them appear brighter to the naked eye. Plus, this year’s show is set to be especially spectacular to witness based on its timing; coinciding with a new moon on May 7, the skies will be particularly dark, meaning catching sight of something sparkly will be easier than ever (so long as this stubborn cloud cover moves out of the way).
How can I see the Eta Aquariids meteor shower from Sydney?
From 1.30am on Saturday, May 4, Sunday, May 5 and Monday, May 6, look to the eastern skies and you should begin to see a sporadic smattering of asteroids lighting up the sky. The key word here is sporadic: meteor showers are notoriously hard to predict. You might find yourself staring at the sky for a long time before suddenly catching several sparkly spectacles in a row. The best way to see them from Sydney is to scan the northern horizon near the point of the Aquarius constellation where the meteors are set to emerge from (for help on this one, you might want to turn to a constellation map app, or turn to the experts at Blue Mountains Stargazing).
When will the Eta Aquariids meteor shower be at its peak?
Though the meteor shower is set to be visible from Sydney from 1.30am onwards for a couple of days this weekend, it’s set to peak in the few hours before dawn on Monday, May 6 – when between 20 and 30 meteors are expected to light up the sky each hour.
You’re going to want to set those alarms, rug up and head outside. It's not every night that you get to bear witness to a 2000-year-old celestial show – and if you were to choose a year this century to get out there, this is the one.
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