Eta Aquaridas, considered one of the most beautiful meteor showers of the year, was recorded this morning by Monte Castello’s monitoring station in Santa Catarina. The maximum activity of this annual event is predicted to occur on Friday (6), when 20 meteors per hour can be seen – And Brazil has a privileged view.
The Eta Aquarids are so called because the meteors converge with the remains of the famous Halley’s Comet in the constellation Aquarius. This meteor shower occurs annually between April 19 and May 28, when Earth crosses the orbit of the comet where debris left over from millions of years floats. Upon entering the atmosphere, they leave a shiny mark, which is harmless.
The planet passes through the comet’s path twice a year at two different points, and is also attributed to Orionidas in the constellation of Orion, which occurs every October.
Eta Aquarids was first associated with Halley’s Comet in 1876 by British astronomer Alexander Stewart Herschel. In 1947, the radio telescope at Jodrell Banks Observatory in the United Kingdom detected this phenomenon for the first time in the radio range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Halley is the only comet that is visible to the naked eye and passes through the region of Earth’s solar system every 74 to 79 years. The last time it was possible to see it was in 1986, and its return is scheduled for 2061.
