Pa. treated to bright ‘chunks of space debris’ this month
(TNS) — Attention, Pennsylvania residents: When things are a little less cloudy, take a gander at the night sky at some point this month.
It’s there that you’ll — hopefully — be treated to a glimpse of a brilliant meteor shower.
The Eta Aquariids (alternately spelled ‘Aquarids’), according to Space.com, are ‘chunks of space debris’ that hail from none other than the elusive Hailey’s Comet, which orbits the sun an average 76 years or so.
NASA notes that their radiant — in other words, the point in the sky they appear to come from — is the constellation Aquarius, hence their name.
While the Eta Aquariids already reached their peak on Monday and Tuesday, EarthSky.org confirms that those in the Northern and Southern hemispheres will still be able to view them through the end of May, preferably when it’s still dark outside.
‘The Southern Hemisphere is preferable for viewing the Eta Aquarids,’ NASA states. ‘The Northern Hemisphere has an hourly rate of only about 10 meteors. ‘This is due to the viewing location of the radiant from different latitudes. The constellation of Aquarius … is higher up in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere than it is in the Norther Hemisphere.’
NASA adds that Eta Aquariids are also seen as ‘Earthgrazers’ — long, bright lights that look like they’re skimming the surface of our planet — in the Northern Hemisphere.
The duration of the Eta Aquariid meteor shower ends May 27.