Eta aquarid meteor shower from Halley's Comet kicks off first week of May

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Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Eta aquarid meteor shower from Halley's Comet kicks off first week of May
What better way to celebrate May the Fourth than by catching a glimpse of a meteor shower? This year, the eta aquarid meteor shower peaks on the evening of May 4 into the pre-dawn hours of May 5.

What better way to celebrate the start of May than by catching a glimpse of a meteor shower? While the 2020 eta aquarid meteor shower peaked on the evening of May 4, it may also be visible in some areas on the evening of Tuesday, May 5.

The shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, where viewers can catch up to 40 meteors per hour at peak. In the Northern Hemisphere, you can expect to see between 10 and 30 meteors per hour.

A nearly full moon will contest the shower, so be sure to keep the moon out of your sight, AccuWeather recommends.

Rock and debris left behind by Halley's Comet, one of the most famous celestial objects in the night sky, make up the meteor shower. The comet returns to the inner solar system in the year 2061.