The night of Sunday, May 5, shortly before (Monday’s) sunrise, is your chance to view a dramatic meteor shower as Earth passes through the belt of debris in the Halley’s comet orbit. NASA will livestream the meteor shower (with chat) from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, from 11pm Sunday to 3am Monday Eastern Daylight Time. The webcast will also be available from space.com.
This annual spring-time orbit through the trail of Halley’s debris is known as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower because to an observer, these meteors appear to radiate from an origin near the constellation Aquarius. The planet passes through the comet’s debris twice a year, creating these meteor viewing opportunities, but since Halley’s comet orbits the sun every 76 years, it will not be near the Earth again until 2061.
For viewing tips, links to videos and images, and further details, go to NASA or space.com. EarthSky has a great meteor shower guide for 2013.
