“Yes, there are millions of stars.
And millions of stars are two eyes that look at them”, the Italian-Argentine poet Antonio Porchia once warned, with good reason.
As if the function of those was only to be seen;
enjoyed as a dessert to the taste of the eye.
And every year, between April and May, the skies give away sidereal parades in which everyone is invited.
In the middle of last month, the phenomenon of the Lyrids, a meteor shower caused by the cloud of dust particles and cosmic debris from comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, began the season of sightings of shooting stars in different latitudes of the globe.
The turn now corresponds to the Eta Aquarids, a new stellar shower that, according to the American Meteor Society, will reach its maximum point of visibility during the early morning, before dawn, on May 5.
As with the Lyrids, the flashes that characterize this celestial manifestation are caused by the friction of the stellar dust grains that enter the atmosphere.
The Eta Aquarids are related to the debris from the passage of Comet Halley 1P, a star that appears every 76 years.
This is the first of two annual meteor showers produced by the Halley fragments;
the second, the Orionids, are recorded every October.
The Eta Aquarids are named for their radiant point within the constellation Aquarius.
NASA explains that the Aquarids are distinguished by their speed: they move at approximately 66 kilometers per second and leave halos and streaks behind them that can last a few minutes.
When will the Eta Aquarid meteor shower be visible?
This phenomenon begins on April 19 and ends on May 28.
However, it is during the first night skies of this last month that the display of shooting stars can be best appreciated.
Although it is estimated that between 10 and 20 meteors will be visible per hour, there will be peaks in which the number of celestial bodies increases to 30. It is thought that during the early hours of May 5 and 6, the number will reach 50 fragments of light per time.
Where can you see the Eta Aquarids?
The Eta Aquarids can be seen from the northern hemisphere in clear, dark skies, but the best appreciation of these shooting stars will be from the southern hemisphere.
It is estimated that, on average, in the United States and other areas of the northern hemisphere, up to 20 stars can be distinguished per hour at the maximum points of visibility.
While in some parts of the southern hemisphere, it is expected to count up to 50 in the same time.
To better perceive the Eta Aquarids, NASA recommends looking for areas far from the city to avoid the light of the city.
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