STAR SHOWER | Meteor Shower: How to See Delta Aquarid, Remnants of Halley’s Comet This Weekend

He Comet Halley, undoubtedly the most famous in existence, can only be observed once every 76 years, and last occurred in 1986. However, the remnants of gravel and dust that Halley leaves behind as he orbits the Sun float through space and cross paths with Earth every six months. These small fragments enter our atmosphere and, due to the friction they are subjected to as they pass through it, ignite and formFalling stars‘. When there are a lot of them, they are called ‘meteor Rain‘, and here’s what we can see this weekend (and a few days after) from Spain.

There are actually two meteor showers formed by Halley’s remains: Eta Aquaridswhich is what they produce these days, and Orionidsvisible in October.

According to the National Geographic Institute (IGN), Eta Aquarids are at their peak activity around around 23:00 on Sunday 5 May. although several days before and even several days after this moment numerous meteorites corresponding to this phenomenon continue to be seen.

The name of this astronomical spectacle comes from the star from which these celestial “sparks” seem to “come out”: the star Eta in the constellation Aquarius. This place of “origin” is called the point radiatum, although in fact it isYou can see falling stars anywhere in the sky.but they will almost always follow the same direction.

This year will be a good opportunity to view the phenomenon as there will be no moonlight until almost dawn, so the darkness of the sky will help you enjoy even the faintest shooting stars.

How to see them?

What tools to use? To see star showers no type of tool required, no binoculars, no telescope. In reality, they would be impossible to use, since it would be impossible to know where a shooting star would appear, and it would be impossible to follow its very fast and ephemeral trajectory.

So the best thing, as astronomers recommend, is to go to such a place free of light pollution and lies quietly and comfortably on the floorlooking up at the vault of heaven.

One thing to keep in mind is that during events like this, many websites often predict a high number of stars per minute. However, these predictions should not be taken literally, since there are years in which the frequency of meteorites remains significantly below these figures, which does not make the experience any less interesting.

More information: https://astronomia.ign.es/eta-acuaridas.

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Environment Department contact: Crisisclimatica@prensaiberica.es