What time can you see the Eta Aquarids meteor shower? See peak days, Ohio weather forecast
The third meteor shower of the year behind the Lyrids in April and the Quadrantids in January, the Eta Aquarids (also spelled "Aquariids") peak in early May each year. And they're spawned by perhaps the most famous comet of them all — Halley's.
While they're best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, according to NASA, the Eta Aquarids will still put on a show across the United States, if the weather cooperates. But with Ohio being Ohio, Mother Nature may not.
Here's what to know.
The biggest astronomical events in 2025: Every eclipse, comet, meteor shower to see in Ohio
The Eta Aquarids will peak the evening of May 5 into the pre-dawn hours of May 6, according to NASA.
According to NASA's Watch the Skies blog, the best time to view the peak starts at 2 a.m. May 6 and lasts until dawn.
"Expect to see at most 10–15 meteors per hour just before dawn on the morning of May 6,' Bill Cooke, who leads NASA's Meteoroid Environments Office at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, told the blog.
The moon, however, will be about 60% full, and its light may block some of the show.
'The light from the waxing Moon will wash out the fainter meteors this year," Cooke said.
The moon might not be the only thing to dampen the meteor shower during its peak. Rain is in the Ohio weather forecast for May 5 to 6.
According to the National Weather Service forecast for Akron, there's an 80% chance of showers, and a 50% chance of thunderstorms on the evening of May 5, which continues into May 6, with a 40% chance of showers that morning.
In Columbus, there's a 60% chance of showers the evening of May 5, which grows to an 80% chance of May 6.
Cincinnati may have the best chance of cooperative weather, with only a 30% chance of showers overnight May 5 continuing into May 6.
Active from April 20 to May 21, per NASA, the Eta Aquarids appear to originate from the constellation Aquarius, giving the meteor shower its name. The meteors are known for their speed, and they can leave glowing "trains" — bits of debris in their wake — that can last for up to a full minute.
They originate from debris left behind by Halley's Comet, which returns every 76 years and was last seen in 1986.
Halley is often called the most famous comet because it marked the first time astronomers understood comets could be repeat visitors to the solar system, according to NASA. Scientists have now linked its appearances to observations dating back more than 2,000 years.
Before Edmond Halley, an English astronomer who lived from 1656 to 1742, comets were believed to make only one pass through the solar system.
In 1705, Halley used Isaac Newton's theories of gravitation and planetary motions to compute the orbits of several comets. He found similarities in the orbits of bright comets reported in 1531, 1607, and 1682. Halley suggested that they were a single comet making return trips. Halley correctly predicted the comet would return in 1758. History's first known "periodic" comet was later named in his honor.
The big show every year is the Perseid meteor shower, which this year will peak from Aug. 12 to 13 with 50 to 100 meteors per hour, according to NASA.
The Perseids appear to originate from the constellation Perseus and are considered to be the best meteor shower of the year, according to NASA. At their peak, the Perseids can generate up to 100 meteors per hour.
These meteors originate from comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun every 133 years and was last seen in 1992. Swift-Tuttle is large, with a nucleus measuring 16 miles wide. According to NASA, that's nearly twice the size of the object thought to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: When Eta Aquarids meteor shower 2025? Peak days, Ohio weather forecast
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