If you’re willing to get up early on Sunday, you can enjoy a fascinating view of the night sky.
If you’re looking for something breathtaking to do this weekend, set an alarm clock for early Sunday and look to the sky. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is set to peak this weekend, with the potential for dozens of meteors each hour to shoot across the sky in the predawn hours of Sunday morning. While the number of meteors visible per hour will depend on where you’re located, even those in less-than-ideal conditions should see up to 10 meteors per hour.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower occurs annually between April 15 and May 27, peaking in early May. Meteors are leftover comet particles that come from broken asteroids. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is created from dust grains shed by Halley’s Comet when it enters the inner solar system.
According to NASA, the Eta Aquarid meteors are notable for their speed, with the possibility of meteors in the stream hitting a maximum rate of 148,000 miles per minute as they reach the Earth’s atmosphere.
