If you have been staying at home for the past weeks, and coming up with fun, exciting, and new activities seemed to be challenging every day, then a Halley's Comet Meteor Shower got your back.
On Tuesday, early morning, you might want to put off your tablets and cellphones and lie down outside your home while gazing at the stars, and possibly see a meteor shower!
The Eta Aquarids
Early tomorrow (Tuesday), the Eta Aquarids meteor shower will be appearing at its peak in the Northern Hemisphere. There will be about ten meteors per hour.
This shower happens every year when the Earth passes through what has been left behind by the Halley's Comet. The Eta Aquarids are fast-traveling meteors that have a speed of 148,000 meters per hour, which allows them to produce incandescent strings of debris. When these trains collide with the Earth's atmosphere, they may last for several minutes.
How to get the best view?
This meteor shower can make the kids pretty excited because it's a natural phenomenon that happens only once a year, but parents should give them a little heads up. Waiting for the meteor shower may take some prep time. Although this does not require some giant telescopes or other equipment, some mat and your eyes will be enough.
Here are some of the steps that you may follow:
1. Find the best spot
To make sure watching the meteors will be worth it, make sure that you are comfortable waiting and has a good view of the sky. The best spot is away from the city and street lights. It should also be a place where you can lie back.
2. Find the Northern Hemisphere
Gazers will see the Eta Aquarids at its peak at the Northern Hemisphere. To be able to find this spot, make sure that when you lie down, your feet are facing the east. This way, you will be directed to where the show is happening.
3. Take some time for eyes to adjust.
You might not need telescopes to view the meteor shower, but the eyes would need to adjust to the view for about thirty minutes.
During the adjustment period, there are plenty of stars that you may still see, as the constellation Aquarius. A part of Aquarius is the star Eta Aquarii. This star is also a radiant of Eta Aquarids, so when you look at it during the shower, it may seem like the meteor shower is coming from it.
Halley's comet is not going to appear this year. It is set for viewing from the Earth in 2061. So while we are still waiting for Halley's comet, consider this one as the opening act to a big concert.
Besides, this natural phenomenon is an excellent way to pass the time while the world is facing a pandemic. Not only can families get some fresh air in the back yard, but it is also a way to exchange the usual video streaming and social networking sites browsing most families do in the past weeks.
