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- BBC News World
May 6, 2022, 00:16 GMT
image source, Getty Images
Meteor showers can be seen with the naked eye.
There are several decades left before Halley’s Comet visits us once more, whose next visible appearance from Earth is scheduled for 2061 or 2062, but every year the famous star sends us a memory so that we do not forget it: a meteor shower known as the eta aquarids.
These are cosmic particles left behind by the comet during its orbit around the Sun, which lasts an average of 75 or 76 years.
When these particles come into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere – which usually happens between April and May every year – they create an astronomical spectacle known colloquially as a “meteor shower”.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (NASA, for its acronym in English), the eta aquarids move at regarding 66 kilometers per second, leaving behind halos that can last a few minutes.
Although the phenomenon is visible every year between April 19 and May 28, it is expected that in 2022 the maximum activity will occur during the early mornings of May 5 and 6.
“The crescent Moon will hide at midnight, allowing the observation of the eta aquarids from the moment the radiant is above the horizon, four hours following midnight”, explains the National Geographic Institute of Spain (IGN) .
The organization details that the observation of this phenomenon “is more favorable from places located in the tropics, such as the Canary Islands, and in the southern hemisphere, although they can also be observed in the northern hemisphere.”
According to IGN, “2022 will be a good year for the observation of the eta aquarids”.
How to see them?
Unlike many astrological phenomena, the observation of which requires special instruments or care to avoid damaging the eyes, to see the eta aquarids you only need to raise your eyes to the dark sky.
image source, Getty Images
Of course: it is recommended that you locate yourself somewhere where you can see the entire sky, since these meteors They are usually seen near the horizon.
NASA also advises looking for areas far from the city to avoid the light of the city.
And you will depend a bit on luck, since you will require clear skies.
“It is convenient to direct the gaze towards the darkest areas, in the opposite direction to the position of the Moon if the observation is made when it is present,” suggests the IGN.
But if you don’t get to see the wreckage of Halley on this lap, don’t worry.
In October you will have another opportunity with the arrival of the Orionids, the second annual “meteor shower” produced by the fragments of the famous comet.
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