HOPEFULLY CLOUDS WON’T obstruct our views — the annual Eta Aquarids meteor shower will reach its peak tonight (Monday night) into early Tuesday morning.

Considered an average meteor shower, the Eta Aquarids is capable of producing up 10-20 shooting stars per hour (including rare “earthgrazers” that leave long, bright trails) at its peak in the skies over the North Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

The meteors are fragments of dust shed from the nucleus of Halley’s Comet centuries ago. The shower runs annually from April 19-May 28. Halley’s Comet itself is still 47 years away from its next visit to our part of the solar system.

The best viewing of the Eta Aquarids will be after midnight because the first-quarter moon will have just set, leaving fairly dark skies for viewing.

Go to a dark location away from city lights. Be sure to give your eyes time to adjust to the dark.

Many meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Aquarius the Water Bearer, which rises after midnight in the southeastern sky. But they can appear anywhere, including low to the horizon.

For more information, click on: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-eta-aquarid-meteor-shower?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=1250da8e0d-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-1250da8e0d-393845637