Adrian Dening's Stars Over Somerset

Wednesday, 27 April 2022 17:00

Monday 2nd to Sunday 8th May 2022

The morning of Friday 6th sees the peak of the Eta-Aquariids meteor shower that coincides with a moonless sky, so there will be no light pollution to spoil your view. The shower is so named because the radiant point where the meteors appear to originate from is in the constellation of Aquarius, near one of the constellation's brightest stars, Eta-Aquarii.

If you are up at around 4.15am, the constellations of Aquarius and Capricornus will be close to the horizon in the south east. As a bonus, for being around at that time of day, it will also be possible to spot Mars and Saturn in the same part of the sky.

Do you remember seeing Halley's Comet back in 1986 when it last entered the inner Solar System and flew around the Sun? It is known as a "short-period" comet because its orbit makes the comet visible from the Earth every 75 years and it will next appear in 2061.

The shooting stars of the Eta-Aquariids are actually debris from Comet Halley that was left behind from some of its earlier orbits, hundreds of years ago. At its peak, the shower can produce up to one shooting star per minute.

There are a couple of excellent opportunities to observe the International Space Station next week, but sorry - you will need to be an early riser again! Monday 2nd at 4.39am and Wednesday 4th at 4.38am. On both days, the ISS appears in the west and spends seven minutes passing almost directly overhead before disappearing to the east.

Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2022