Meteor Shower from Halley's Comet Peaks Friday

It has been 25 years since Halley's Comet last passed through the inner solar system, but an annual meteor shower keeps the icy wanderer's legacy on Earth alive this week. The orbit of Halley's Comet closely approaches the Earth's orbit at two places, creating a rain of striking meteors for skywatchers during both instances. One point is in the middle to latter part of October, producing a meteor display known as the Orionids. The other point comes now, in early May, producing the annual Eta Aquarids meteor shower.

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower is predicted to peak early Friday morning (May 6). Under ideal conditions (a dark, moonless sky) about 30 to 60 of these very swift meteors can be seen per hour. And with a new moon on May 3 this is one of those years when observing conditions will be perfect. The shower appears at about one-quarter peak strength for about three or four days before and after May 6.

Halley's Meteors Streak Past

Watch the skies this week and you could see a piece of Halley's comet, even though it won't be passing Earth until 2061. As the comet travels on its 76-year trip around the sun, it leaves small pieces of itself behind. These meteoroids of dust and ice, travelling at over 237,000 kilometres per hour, collide with the Earth's atmosphere as it crosses the comet's orbit in early May and mid-October.

October's meteors appear to come from the direction of the constellation of Orion and earn it the name of the Orionid meteor shower. Last year, NASA recorded 43 Orionid meteors, most of which burned up more than 96 kilometres above the ground. The shower peaks tomorrow and is best viewed in a clear, dark sky after 11 pm in your local time, when the sky will be at its darkest.