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by Karim Belbachir
After the shooting stars is before the shooting stars: That’s how you could put it, because in May things are happening in quick succession. After the Eta Aquariids, the Eta Lyrids and the Arietids are on their way in May. But not all are easy to see.
Halley’s Comet leaves behind Eta Aquariids
A shooting star lights up in the night sky over Halle/Saale. Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/Archive
After the Lyrids in April, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower is also active in May. While at the end of April the earth could no longer move through the Lyrid Meteor Shower moved, since April 19th she has met the shooting stars of the Eta Aquariids. They are also called May Aquariids because there are also Delta Aquariids in July. They enter the earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour, where they then burn up as fireballs. They are named after the constellation of Aquarius from which direction they come.
The Eta Aquarids originated in Halley’s Comet and can be observed just before sunrise. Ten to 15 shooting stars can then be discovered just above the horizon. The very bright parent comet Halley is visible to the naked eye about every 75 years. He was last seen in 1986. The Eta Aquariids will continue through May 28th and peak as early as May 5th and 6th. Then you can see up to 60 of these fireballs in the sky, depending on how far south in Europe you are observing them from.
This is what the weather looks like – our starry weather map
More meteor showers in May
In addition to the Eta Aquariids, two other metero currents are active in May. However, Central Europeans will not see one of them because it rains down during the day. These are the Arietids. They start at the end of the month (May 22nd) and last until the beginning of July. They are fragments of Comet 96P/Machholz. In order to be able to observe them, however, technical aids are required.
The Eta Lyrids, on the other hand, are more visible. It’s a fairly small meteor shower. A maximum of 3 to 5 fireballs show up in the sky during their maximum on May 8th. Despite the similarity in name to their April namesakes, the Eta Lyrids are not from the same comet. Rather, they are fragments of C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock). It received special attention when it passed near the earth in 1983 and was visible to the naked eye.
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