The appointment with the Eta Aquarids is renewed, the meteors generated by the dust of Halley's comet that will be visible in the East in the hours before dawn. The peak is scheduled for 5 and 6 May, but will be visible until 10.
The traditional appointment with the Eta Aquarids has begun in these hours. of the most conspicuous meteoric currents of the year. Unfortunately our latitudes do not favor the vision and to see them from Italy only the few hours before the light of dawn are available.
The swarm will be visible until May 10, but the best days to observe it will be the dawn of the 5th and 6th, looking east. "Identifying the right region to look towards will be very simple", astrophysicist Gianluca told ANSA. Masi, head of the Virtual Telescope Project and national coordinator of Asteroid Day.
"To facilitate orientation - he added - there will be the luminous Jupiter, which in these days is located in the constellation of Aquarius, and above all the Moon, in clear waning phase and therefore not very 'cumbersome', just to the east ".
In good visibility conditions, especially far from sources of light pollution, it is expected to be able to observe a maximum of about 15 meteors per hour. The Eta Aquarids are the 'dusty legacy' of the passages of the famous Halley's comet and that the Earth crosses every year.
The light trails we see are due to the impact with the atmosphere of the very fine dust dispersed by the comet's tail. The most famous Orionids are also due to the same comet, between October and November: "the Eta Aquarids - Masi specifies - are connected to the stretch of orbit along which the comet moves away from the Sun, ie after perihelion, while the Orionids when the comet is approaching the Sun ".
