Meteor shower visible on May 5, 6 – PAGASA

Published May 4, 2013 12:07pm

Weather conditions permitting, stargazers will be in for a treat on Sunday and Monday as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower produces five to 10 meteors per hour.

Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration OIC Vicente Malano said the meteor shower may take place before dawn of May 5 or 6.

"The shower results when Earth crosses the orbit of Halley's Comet, running into clouds of debris or meteoroids shed by the comet due to heating of the Sun," Malano said.

A separate article on “Universe Today” said the Eta Aquarids are among the few major showers that "provide a decent annual show for southern hemisphere residents."

"Keep in mind, the shower is active from April 19th to May 28th. Predicting the arrival of the peak of a meteor shower can be an inexact science. North American observers may still see an early arrival of the Eta Aquarids on May 5th or even the morning of the 4th," it noted.

“Universe Today” also said the Eta Aquarids are one of two annual meteor showers associated with the famous 1P/Halley's Comet, the other being the Orionids in October.

Also, it said the Eta Aquarid meteors have one of the highest atmospheric velocities of any shower, at 66 km per second.

Thus, it said stargazers can expect "short, swift meteors radiating from low in the southeast a few hours before local dawn." – KDM, GMA News

Tags: meteorshower, pagasa, vicentemanalo