NThe silence of these first spring nights, an ancient show prepares to enchant once again those who decide to look up: are, in fact, to make their entrance, I Eta Aquaridi. These shooting starswill light the May sky with a spectacular meteoric swarm: Active from April 19 to May 28th, The peak scheduled in the night between 5 and 6 of the month.
The ages aquarids, messenger bright from Halley’s comet
Every meteor who will sail the May sky, is “daughter” of Halley’s cometthat is, a small fragment of it, one of the most famous in history. These tiny celestial messengers, in fact, are nothing more than residues of dust and debris released by the frozen body During its countless orbits around the sun. The earth, in its eternal cosmic journey, crosses this ancestral trail every year in this period, transforming invisible particles into spectacular brushstrokes of light.
Fragments of a cosmic traveler
Although not visible in our skies since 1986, and it will not be until 2061, Halley’s comet continues to manifest its presence through this celestial giftwhich is repeated year after year. It is as if this ancient spatial traveler, sent postcards from her long peregrin, remembering that she is also part of our astronomical history for millennia.
Tiny fragments of cosmic powder will be transformed into the most spectacular bright show of the May sky (Getty Images)
Light dance at dawn
The culmination of this celestial show, It will take place between the night of Monday 5 and the dawn of Tuesday 6 May. In these magical hours, the cosmic particles will enter our atmosphere at dizzying speeds, up to 238,000 kilometers per hour, turning on as matches in their short, but intense encounter with our planet. The enchantment will prove to be in all its beauty in the silent hours, When the cities sleep and the sky is preparing to welcome the first breaths of dawn. After three in the morning, when the gibbous moon has completed its arch in the western sky, The conditions will become ideal for attending this rain of lightsa time when the border between science and poetry dissolves in starry darkness.
A geographical privilege
The show, unfortunately, will not be distributed equal among the inhabitants of the earth. The observers of the southern hemisphereIndeed, they will enjoy the most generous visionwith the possibility of admiring up to 60 meteors per hour draw bright arches in the night sky. In our boreal hemisphere, The show will be more contained but no less fascinatingwith about 30 meteors per hour to illuminate our dreams, as long as the weather is Clemente.
Eta Aquaridi, the celestial treasure map
Eta Aquaridi take their name from their apparent origin: the constellation of the aquarium, near the star Eta Aquarii. It is from this point in the south-eastern sky that the meteors seem to radiate. However, we must not be fooled by the celestial names: the bright trails can manifest themselves anywhere of the starry vault. To increase the chances of capturing these fleeting cosmic messengers with your gaze, Better to orient themselves about 40 degrees east from the Southfar from the light pollution that obscures the magic of the night sky.
A ritual of observation
For those who want to participate in this ancient connection ritual with the cosmos, There are no sophisticated tools, but rather patience and a good dose of romanticism. To see them it is better to find a dark place, far from artificial lights. Then let the eyes gradually get used to darkness. And when, in the hours that preceded the dawn, when the aquarium begins its ascent in the eastern sky and after the moon has completed its bow, you can abandon it to contemplation.
The stellar calendar continues
Eta Aquaridi are only the first chapter of a celestial narrative that will continue in the summer months. After this spring show, The next appointment with the falling stars It will be with the Delta Aquaridi southern in July, followed by the famous Perseids of Augustalthough this year their visibility will be partially compromised by the lunar light.
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