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The Eta Aquáridas meteor shower had reached its peak on Thursday (6) in the Southern Hemisphere. These meteors are remnants of the passage of Comet Halley. The meteor shower started on April 19 and should be visible until May 28, but its peak was concentrated between the 4th, 5th and 6th of this month, being possible to observe up to 30 meteors per hour.
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In Brazil, as in other Latin American countries, the view of the phenomenon is favored due to the position of the constellation in relation to the countries of the southern hemisphere.
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The estimate is that the best time to observe the phenomenon is between 2 am and 4 am, when the constellation Aquarius will be slightly higher in the sky.
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How meteor showers occur
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Meteor showers happen when our planet crosses the trail of dust and debris left by a comet when approaching the Sun.
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In the case of Eta Aquaridas, the Earth crosses the path taken by Comet Halley, which made its most recent passage through the solar system in 1986. The particles left by Halley are not only from his last passage, but also from the remnants left by his trajectory long ago. hundreds of years. His next appearance on Earth will be in the year 2061.
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When these particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they disintegrate leaving a bright and colorful trail in the sky.
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The Earth crosses Halley’s trajectory twice a year. The first causes the Eta Aquáridas rain and the second, the Oriónidas rain, which occurs in October.
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How to observe the Eta Aquáridas rain
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Comet Halley – Photo: NASA Blueshift
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No equipment is needed to see the phenomenon, just look at the sky. However, the darker the sky, the better the observation of the meteor shower.
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Therefore, it is important to know the position of the Moon and how bright it will be, in addition to avoiding artificial light interference, such as city lights.
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