Meteor streaks were visible this weekend as the Earth crossed the dust trail of Halley’s Comet in a yearly meteor shower.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, shown in both Northern and Southern hemispheres in the cluster Aquarius, reached its peak this weekend, with the best viewing times in the early morning hours after 3 a.m.
At the “shooting stars” exhibition in late spring, Sky-Watcher was expecting to see up to 30 meteor showers streaking through the Earth’s atmosphere per hour. This event is known best for speedily meteors with long trains travelling at speeds of 41 miles per second, as per the American Meteor Organization.
Check out these breathtaking Eta Aquarid meteor shower pictures by Sky-Watcher, who stayed up late to see Halley’s Comet’s remnants illuminate the Earth’s sky:-
BEAUTIFUL ETA AQUARID GRAZING FIREBALL #SPMN060522B AS RECORDED TODAY at 2h03m35s UTC from Olocau, #València by Alex Gómez & Juan Gómez. With the radiant close to the horizon, cometary bolides increase their length and duration. More details in our list:https://t.co/CRfB0fblVv pic.twitter.com/x1IXmv0k47
— Red Investigación Bólidos y Meteoritos (SPMN) (@RedSpmn) May 6, 2022
I seemed to have caught maybe 1 or 2 meteors from tonights Eta aquarid shower, this one was a beautiful greenish colour, backdropped by the milky way around 3am. #etaaquarid #Meteorshower #swansea #nasa #bbcskyatnight #Meteor #wales #stargazingwales #space #milkyway pic.twitter.com/AJbjaek02y
— Tim (@TBowphotography) May 7, 2022
Blink or you’ll miss the meteor! One of several Eta Aquarid meteors we saw in the wee hours of pre dawn.
I saw 4 (out of a possible 25). Super chuffed 🤩 pic.twitter.com/bd0ci3LIEV
— Suzy (@kittyfantastik) May 6, 2022
Meteorologist Rick Kearbey of Tampa Bay WTSP in Florida wrote our favorite meteor tale of the year. As Kearbey stated on Twitter, he and his daughter Kayleigh look forward to meeting a shooting star:
Kyleigh & I went out to see the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower. She said, “I don’t think we’ll see any.” I told her let’s say a quick prayer. We did and boom, we saw the most amazing meteor I’ve ever seen. Huge, bright & lit up they sky for 15 seconds. Anyone else need her prayers? 😁 pic.twitter.com/GoEOqKdpiP
— Ric Kearbey (@Ric_Kearbey) May 6, 2022
“‘I don’t think we can see anything,’ she said. “Let’s say a simple prayer,” I suggested to Carvey. “There was a boom. We saw the most beautiful meteorite I’ve ever seen. It was massive and bright, lighting up the sky for 15 seconds.”
Photos of showers from Japan and the Southern Hemisphere were also popular on Instagram.