Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower 6-7 May, 2026

The north-eastern horizon as seen from Adelaide at 5:00 am ACST on 7 May, the eta Aquariid radiant is marked with a starburst. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). The eta Aquariid meteor shower, which is produced by the debris from Halley’s Comet, will should peak on May 7 (strictly speaking May 6, 3UT). This year the waning gibbous moon interferes. Dark sky sites could expect to see meteor every 6 minutes. People in the suburbs should see a meteor around once every 10 minutes, and in the country about once every 6 minutes. The radiant of the shower is about five hand-spans up from the eastern horizon, and three hand-spans to the left of due east at 4 am (see spotter chart at 5:00 am above). The radiant is above the disincentive pair of Saturn and Mars below near the eastern horizon , which makes a good reference point. Weather prediction looks a bit dodgy for South Australia and the east coast. You may have read that…