Stargaze › Meteor Showers › Eta Aquariids
Peak: 6 May 2026, around 08:00 UTC
Active: 19 April 2026 – 28 May 2026
Rate at peak: up to 50 meteors/hour (ZHR)
Speed: 66 km/s ·
Parent body: Comet 1P/Halley ·
Radiant: Aquarius
These are Halley's Comet leftovers - tiny particles shed during its last inner-solar-system pass that now cross Earth's path every May. The meteors hit the atmosphere at 66 km/s, leaving long glowing trains that can persist for several minutes after the meteor itself has gone.
The optimal window is the hour or two before sunrise. Face northeast, keep your gaze wide and low. Southern hemisphere observers should get out after midnight for the best rates. May nights are mild enough to stay out comfortably.
If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, this is one of your best showers of the year. From the UK or northern US, the radiant barely clears the horizon before dawn, but the fast bright meteors make the early alarm worth it.
Linked to Halley since 1868. Southern hemisphere observers regularly count 30 to 60 per hour from dark sites. Northern observers tend to see fewer because the radiant stays low in the sky.
The Eta Aquariids peak on 6 May 2026 at around 08:00 UTC. The shower is active from 19 April 2026 to 28 May 2026.
Under dark skies at peak you can expect up to 50 meteors per hour (ZHR). Light pollution and moonlight reduce that figure.
The radiant lies in the constellation Aquarius, but meteors appear across the whole sky. The optimal window is the hour or two before sunrise. Face northeast, keep your gaze wide and low. Southern hemisphere observers should get out after midnight for the best rates. May nights are mild enough to stay out comfortably.