Meteor streaks delighted skywatchers this weekend as Earth passed through the dust path of Halley’s Comet in an annual meteor shower display.
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower which can be seen in the northern and southern hemispheres of the constellation Aquarius peaked this weekend with best observation times in the early hours of the morning after 3 a.m. local time, weather permitting.
Sky watchers were expected to see up to 30 meteors per hour slithering through Earth’s atmosphere In the show “Meteor” in late spring. The event is famous for fast moving meteors With long trains, it moves at up to 41 miles (66 kilometers) per second, according to the American Meteorite Society.
If you’re hoping to snap pictures of meteor showers in the future, our guide to How to photograph meteor showers I can help. You can also use The best cameras for astrophotography And Best lenses for astrophotography Guides to prepare for the next meteor shower .
Related: Best meteor showers this year
Check out stunning photos of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower by skywatchers who stayed up late (or rose too early) to catch a glimpse of leftovers from Halley’s Comet Lights up the sky of the earth.
Our favorite meteor story from this year came from Ric Kearbey, a meteorologist at 10 Tampa Bay WTSP in Florida. Kirby and his daughter, Kylie, were out hoping to see the shooting star, he recounted on Twitter.
“I don’t think we’ll see any of it,” she said. So I said to her, ‘Let’s say a quick prayer,’ said Kirby. ‘We did and boom, we saw the most amazing meteor I’ve ever seen. Huge, shining and lit up the sky for 15 seconds.”
Kirby joked, “Does anyone need her prayers?” While posting a picture of him and Kylie, who is about five years old, judging from Kirby’s previous social media posts.
Instagram was also full of shower scenes from the Southern Hemisphere and from countries like Japan.
Editor’s note: If you’ve taken an amazing photo of the Eta Aquarid meteor or other night sky scene and want to share it with Space.com for a story or photo gallery, send photos, comments, and location information to spacephotos@space.com .
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