Meteors

Meteors made mainly of rock and can be as small a grain of dust. Most meteor showers are gravel and sand-grain sized specks that are left over from the nucleus of a comet as it passes the Sun. Remember that a comet's tail is always going to point away from the sun, and that's where the "train" of gravel and sand comes from. Meteor showers result when the earth’s orbit intersects the trail of a comet. Comets, which are effectively large dirty balls of ice, slash through our solar system on predictable trajectories. When their travels take them near the Sun, part of the comet’s ice is melted which releases bits of solid debris. These small pieces of the comet are scattered along its path and when the Earth later passes through the comet’s trail, the show is on.

A “falling star” you’ll eventually see in the sky are the result of meteors that blaze through the Earth’s atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour. Scientists estimate that as many as 4 billion meteors fall through the earth’s atmosphere each day. If large enough when they enter the atmosphere, a few rare survivors called meteorites will eventually impact the ground. When observing meteor showers today as then, you will notice they appear to originate from a hidden point in the sky, this is called a radiant.

Eta Aquarids meteor shower was first isolated (and pinned to an orbital event) in the 1870s, when Lieutenant-Colonel G. L. Tupman observed them while sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. William Herschel corroborated the shower with the recent passing of Haley's Comet that the shower was tied to Halley's Comet in 1876.

Due to the Earth's orbit around the Sun, the angle the meteors appear at shifts by a few degrees each night, moving generally eastward and towards the ecliptic (south in the Northern hemisphere, north for the Southern hemisphere).

Since astronomers know the paths of various comets that visit our solar system, it’s relatively easy for them to know when and where meteor showers will occur. Scientists divide the sky into 88 segments know as constellations. Meteor showers are named based on the constellation found at that point in the sky. If you're willing to stay up late (or get up early), this is a naked eye observation event. You'll have best viewing around 3 to 5 AM local time. If you're just getting into the fascinating hobby of watching the night skies, this is a good place to start. The objects are bright, move noticeably across the heavens, and only require your naked eyes to see them. All that said, be sure to get up early and enjoy the show.