“You can actually make useful scientific contributions by counting the number of meteors you see and trying to separate them into Lyrids or non-Lyrids. “You don’t need expensive equipment it is a way that you can participate in astronomy without spending a lot of money, and it’s fun,” Lunsford said. In 2024, Lunsford estimates that those within the Southern Tropics could see a range of 75 to 100 meteors per hour. Lunsford also mentioned that this year’s peak is expected to see slightly more meteors per hour, and next year even more so due to perturbation that has caused the debris trail to move closer to Earth. A meteor’s speed is determined by the angle in which it encounters Earth, with the Aquariids mostly colliding with the atmosphere head-on, Lunsford said. The Aquariids typically produce meteors that are faster than others, including the last event of the Lyrids in April, which means they tend to produce more persistent trains, smoke trails caused by disintegration of the blazing fast meteors. Those in northern areas, such as Canada, will have a smaller window to see activity, the American Meteor Society’s Lunsford said, while those in the Southern Hemisphere will have a slightly longer time frame where the radiant will be up, and the sun will still be down. The Aquariids are only visible just before dawn since the radiant rises a few hours before the sun does, limiting the evening hours in which you can see them. The Aquariids constellation is Aquarius, hence the shower’s name, and lies on the ecliptic, the sun’s path in the sky. Eclipses (penumbral or total) are great excuses to take a look at the moon and start looking at it more regularly!” More on the Eta AquariidsĮvery annual meteor shower has a radiant, the constellation from which the meteors appear to be originating. ![]() “Any chance people have to get out and look at the moon is an excellent opportunity to connect with our moon.
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