Eta Aquariids peak before dawn May 6

The Eta Aquariids are one of those sky events that sound more dramatic than they usually look from a backyard in the U.S. — but this year’s timing still made them worth a try. The shower hit its 2026 peak in the hours before dawn on Monday, May 5, and again around dawn on Tuesday, May 6, when Earth moved through dust left behind by Halley’s Comet. That’s the basic news. The catch is that the moon was bright, so the best version of the show was always going to belong to patient people with dark skies. (science.nasa.gov) ### What are the Eta Aquariids? They’re meteors created when tiny bits of comet debris slam into Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. In this case the debris comes from Halley’s Comet, which leaves a trail of particles along its orbit. Earth runs through that trail every year in early May, and the result is the Eta Aq(science.nasa.gov)of the better-known annual meteor showers. (science.nasa.gov) ### Why was before dawn the key window? Because that’s when your side of Earth is turning into the stream of debris. Before dawn, the shower’s radiant — the point in the sky the meteors seem to come from — climbs higher, which makes more streaks visible. NASA flagged May 5 and May 6 as the best mornings this year(science.nasa.gov)er placed closer to dawn. (science.nasa.gov) ### How strong is this shower supposed to be? In ideal conditions, it’s a good one. NASA says peak rates can reach about 50 meteors per hour, while other skywatching guides put the theoretical zenithal hourly rate around 60. Those are best-case numbers — dark sky, radiant high, no moon, perfect conditions. Real-w(science.nasa.gov)h as it does farther south. (science.nasa.gov) ### So what was the problem this year? Moonlight. A waning gibbous moon stayed up through the pre-dawn hours around the peak, washing out the fainter meteors. That doesn’t erase the shower, but it does mean you mostly see the brighter, faster streaks instead of a steady drizzle. EarthSky’s advice was simple — if you could put(science.nasa.gov)basically the skywatching version of shading your screen in sunlight. (earthsky.org) ### What do Eta Aquariids look like? They’re fast. NASA puts their entry speed at about 40.7 miles per second, or 65.4 kilometers per second, which is why they can leave glowing trains that linger for seconds or even minutes. That speed is the signature feature here. Even if you only catch a handful, they tend to look sharper and more dramatic than slower meteors. (science.nasa.gov) ### Who had the best view? The Southern Hemisphere usually does. The radiant rises higher there, so observers south of the equator can often see more meteors than viewers in the northern U.S. But the southern half of the United States still does better than farther north, and the shower remains visible from both hemispheres if you watch in the right pre-dawn window. (science.nasa.gov) ### Is it over now? The peak is. But the shower itself stays active for weeks, not hours. NASA’s May skywatching guide and timeanddate both note that Eta Aquariid activity extends beyond the exact peak date, so stragglers can still appear after May 6 — just in smaller numbers. The main thing that changed today is that the best concentrated viewing window has passed. (science.nasa.gov) ### What’s the bottom line? If you were outside before dawn on May 5 or May 6, you caught the Eta Aquariids at their best for 2026 — or at least as good as the moon allowed. This wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime outburst. It was the annual Halley’s Comet shower doing what it always does: fast meteors, best before sunrise, with this year’s bright moon knocking the top off the display. (science.nasa.gov)