Among the top 10 meteor showers appearing annually, one of the best will be reaching its peak on Tuesday morning (May 6). The Eta Aquarid shower ranks among the top four in terms of overall activity.
Because the meteors appear to emanate from a spot on the sky (called the "radiant") in the Water Jar of the Aquarius constellation — hence the name "Aquarids" — their visibility favors prospective skywatchers south of the equator. Indeed, for those living in the Southern Hemisphere (Santiago, Johannesburg Melbourne, Auckland), the Eta Aquarid radiant climbs well up in the predawn eastern sky and it is from there that these meteors appear plentiful. In fact, many southern observers consider this shower to be the best meteor shower of the year.
