Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower 2024
- 22nd Apr 2024
- Author: Lucy Spencer
Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower
Get the hot chocolate and blankets ready – the Eta Aquariids are coming to a night sky near you. In 2024, peak activity occurs between midnight and dawn on 6 May with around 50 meteors an hour!
Twice a year, the Earth crosses the orbital path of Halley's Comet – once in May and once in October. Comets constantly shed dust and stones as they fly around the Sun, and it is this debris along Halley’s path that causes the Eta Aquariids. The debris hits Earth’s atmosphere at nearly 150,000 kilometres an hour and burns up in bright, short blazes about 80 kilometres up in the atmosphere. In October this same debris trail causes the Orionid meteor shower.
Halley’s Comet takes 76 years to orbit the Sun and will next be visible from Earth in 2061.
How to Watch from the UK
The Eta Aquariids are named after the southern constellation Aquarius as this is the direction from which they appear to originate, but it's best to scan the entire expanse of the night sky!
To view the Eta Aquariids from the UK, head outside anytime after midnight on the night of the 5/6 May.
Fortunately, this year the peak coincides just two days before the new Moon, so there will be minimal interference from moonlight!
If it’s cloudy, you can always try your luck on a nearby day. The Eta Aquariids are active from 19 April – 28 May.
So find a dark sky area, wrap up warm, and allow 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark and scan the skies to enjoy the shooting stars using only the optical tool nature gave you – your eyes!
To find your nearest dark sky site use Go Stargazing.
Meteor Infographic
Download our National Space Centre Meteor Shower Guide to make sure you are fully prepared!
Upcoming meteor showers for 2024 include:
Delta Aquariids
Comet of Origin: 96P/Machholz
Radiant: constellation Aquarius
Peak Activity: 30 July 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 10 meteors per hour
Perseids
Comet of Origin: 109P/Swift-Tuttle
Radiant: constellation Perseus
Peak Activity: 12-13 August 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 100 meteors per hour
Draconids
Comet of Origin: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
Radiant: constellation Draco
Peak Activity: 8-9 October 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 10 meteors per hour (In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour.)
Orionids
Comet of Origin: 1P/Halley
Radiant: constellation Orion
Peak Activity: 21-22 October 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 20 meteors per hour
Northern Taurids
Comet of Origin: 2P/Encke
Radiant: constellation Taurus
Peak Activity: 11-12 November 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: 5 meteors per hour
Leonids
Comet of Origin: 55P/Tempel-Tuttle
Radiant: constellation Leo
Peak Activity: 16-17 November 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 10 meteors per hour
Geminids
Asteroid of Origin: 3200 Phaethon
Radiant: constellation Gemini
Peak Activity: 13-14 December 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 150 meteors per hour
Ursids
Comet of Origin: 8P/Tuttle
Radiant: constellation Ursa Minor
Peak Activity: 21-22 December 2024
Peak Activity Meteor Count: up to 10 meteors per hour
Happy Stargazing!
Full references / credits:
(Banner image) Meteor showers. Credit: © National Space Centre
(1) Halley's Comet crossing the Milky Way Galaxy, as observed from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory on April 8–9, 1986. Credit: Kuiper Airborne Observatory/NASA
(2) Radiant of Eta Aquariids. Credit: Stellarium
