The week ends with the most important meteor shower of spring, the eta Aquarids, which will experience its peak on Sunday night into Monday. Around 10:00 p.m. they can be enjoyed from Lanzarote and the rest of the Canary Islands.
Unless clouds prevent it, the meteor shower will be seen perfectly because it will coincide with the new moon, which will occur on May 8.
This meteor shower is visible every year between April 19 and May 28 and, although its observation is more favorable in the southern hemisphere and in places near the tropics, such as the Canary Islands, it can also be enjoyed in the northern hemisphere.
Like the Orionids of October, the Aquarids are associated with Comet Halley, a large and bright celestial body that orbits the Sun in an orbit of 76 years.
On its journey, Halley releases small metallic particles that pass through the Earth's atmosphere, disintegrate and become the shooting stars that are seen.
Therefore, even though the comet is currently in the depths of the outer Solar System (it will not return to Earth until 2061), it is possible to see the remains of the tail of this star.
Radiant in the constellation Aquarius
The eta Aquarid meteors have an activity rate of between 40 and 85 meteors per hour and a fairly high speed, about 66 kilometers per second, according to the National Astronomical Observatory (OAN).
All meteor showers appear to have a single center of origin, a point called the "radiant" and whose location is used to name the meteor shower. In this case, the eta Aquarids have their radiant in the eta star of the constellation Aquarius.
For observers at these latitudes, 40º north, the radiant of the eta Aquarids will be above the horizon from four hours after midnight until dawn, according to the OAN website.
To enjoy this phenomenon, you only have to look for a place with a dark sky, away from obstacles such as buildings, trees or mountains, and from the light pollution of cities.
"The most comfortable thing to do is to lie down and wait for your eyes to adjust to the darkness," advises the OAN.