--- title: Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower: How to Watch in 2017 description: Tonight will be the best time to view the Eta Aquarid meteor shower for anyone willing to stay up late enough canonical: https://time.com/4768780/meteor-shower-what-to-know/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-05T19:04:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:20.980Z article:section: Science og:title: What to Know About the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower og:description: The meteor shower will be most visible from 4 to 5 a.m. on Saturday og:url: https://time.com/4768780/meteor-shower-what-to-know/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3c725d0692046ee/6988cc25656a3fb390bcfdbd/gettyimages-588663534.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: mete-r=shower-visible og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower twitter:description: The meteor shower will be most visible from 4 to 5 a.m. on Saturday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd3c725d0692046ee/6988cc25656a3fb390bcfdbd/gettyimages-588663534.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Know About the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: How to Photograph at Night [Watch (HLS stream): How to Photograph at Night](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UkEDGERp.m3u8) (4:11)  _Published 2016-08-09. Photographs by Stuart Palley_ by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra May 5, 2017 7:04 PM UTC  SPRUCE KNOB, WV - AUGUST 12: In this NASA handout, a 30 second exposure of a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower August 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. The annual display, known as the Perseid shower because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, is a result of Earth's orbit passing through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA viaGetty Images) SPRUCE KNOB, WV - AUGUST 12: In this NASA handout, a 30 second exposure of a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower August 12, 2016 in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. The annual display, known as the Perseid shower because the meteors appear to radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky, is a result of Earth's orbit passing through debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA viaGetty Images) Photograph by Bill Ingalls—Getty/NASA by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra May 5, 2017 7:04 PM UTC The [Eta Aquarid meteor shower](http://time.com/4319508/watch-live-stream-online-eta-aquarid-meteor-shower/) will be a sight to see on Friday night (and early Saturday morning) for anyone willing to stay up late enough. The meteor shower, which was created by debris from Halley’s Comet, will travel across Earth in April and May, [according to Quartz](https://qz.com/976711/how-to-watch-the-eta-aquarids-meteor-shower-created-by-the-debris-of-halleys-comet/), but will be most visible this weekend. Here’s what you need to know about how and where to see the shower. ## When is the best time to watch the meteor shower? The annual, week-long meteor shower is expected to be at its most visible during early Saturday morning, [according to EarthSky](http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-eta-aquarid-meteor-shower). Conditions will be best when the moon sets just before 4 a.m. EST, leaving an hour of total darkness before the sun rises. Since the meteor shower is above the equator, [according to Earth Sky](http://earthsky.org/space/why-more-eta-aquarid-meteors-in-southern-hemisphere), the best views will come from that area. People located further north will be still be able to catch the meteor shower, though they may see fewer meteors go by, according to EarthSky. ## How can I watch the meteor shower? The meteor will be best seen when looking [east near the constellation Aquarius](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/skywatching-guide-may-meteors-moons-planets-science/), where the meteor gets its name from, according to _National Geographic_. Tonight there will be up to 50 meteors going by in an hour, EarthSky reports. For those who can’t a good view in person, a live stream will be available on [Slooh.com](https://www.slooh.com/#/shows/event-details/423?%5Fk=c7w1dv) for members. ## What are are the Eta Aquarids? The Eta Aquarids are pieces of debris from [Halley’s Comet](http://time.com/3627652/comets-earth-water/), which is only visible from Earth every 76 years, [according to NASA.](https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch%5Fthe%5FSkies/tag/eta-aquarids/) Debris from Halley’s comet also creates the [Orionid meteor shower ](http://time.com/3528768/orionid-meteor-shower-live/)in October. 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