--- title: Here’s How to Best Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower description: In just a few days, you could have the chance to see the shower at its peak. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-when-how-to-watch/ author: Chantelle Lee article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-05-01T23:08:26.964Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-12T07:05:37.073Z article:section: Science og:title: Here’s How to Best Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower og:description: In just a few days, you could have the chance to see the shower at its peak. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-when-how-to-watch/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d2c09d76c4eea51/69f528aed9327430c812fae8/Meteor-Shower-Eta.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Meteor-Shower-Eta.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s How to Best Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower twitter:description: In just a few days, you could have the chance to see the shower at its peak. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d2c09d76c4eea51/69f528aed9327430c812fae8/Meteor-Shower-Eta.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s How to Best Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter May 1, 2026 11:08 PM UTC  The Eta Aquarid meteor shower appears in the night sky in Kandalama, Sri Lanka, on May 5, 2024. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower appears in the night sky in Kandalama, Sri Lanka, on May 5, 2024. Thilina Kaluthotage—NurPhoto/Getty Images by [Chantelle Lee](https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/) ## Chantelle Lee Reporter May 1, 2026 11:08 PM UTC In just a few days, you could have the chance to see a meteor shower at its peak. The[ Eta Aquarid meteor shower](https://time.com/7282416/eta-aquariid-meteor-shower-peak-how-when-to-see-it/) started nearly two weeks ago, and will continue for most of this month. But the best opportunity you have to see the most meteors streaking across the sky will be next week. Here’s everything you need to know about the celestial phenomenon and how to watch it. ## What is the Eta Aquarid meteor shower? Often called “shooting stars” or “falling stars,” meteors are caused by space debris burning up as they travel through the Earth’s atmosphere, leaving streaks of light in the sky. You can see a few meteors each hour on a typical night under the right conditions. But meteor showers are special because you can see many more meteors in the same short time frame. During the peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, for instance, you could see as many as 50 meteors per hour, according to [NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/whats-up-may-2026-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/). **Read More:** [_What Is the Perseid Meteor Shower and How Can You Watch It?_](https://time.com/7007975/perseid-meteor-shower-watch/) The Eta Aquarid meteor shower starts in mid-April each year, and lasts until late May. The phenomenon is caused by debris from Halley’s comet that enters the Earth’s atmosphere. “Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sheds a layer of ice and rock into space,” NASA [said](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/eta-aquarids/) on its website. “The dust grains eventually become the Eta Aquarids … if they collide with Earth’s atmosphere.” The Eta Aquarids are known for their speed; the meteors travel into our planet’s atmosphere at about 40 miles per second, according to NASA. “And because they’re moving so quickly, they can leave behind glowing trails that linger for a moment after the flash,” NASA said. ## When can you see it? The peak of the meteor shower—in other words, the best time to see the most meteors—will be from May 5-6, according to NASA. **Read More:** [_Here's How to Best Watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower_](https://time.com/article/2026/04/16/lyrid-meteor-shower-what-when-how-to-watch/) ## How can you watch it? The best way to see a meteor shower is to go to a dark location outside, away from light pollution, and look up at the sky. You don’t need binoculars or a telescope—just make sure you give your eyes enough time to adjust to the darkness (NASA recommends about 20-30 minutes). This year, though, NASA warned that bright moonlight during the Eta Aquarid meteor shower’s peak could interfere with your view, potentially making some of the fainter meteors harder to see. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-when-how-to-watch/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-when-how-to-watch/"},"headline":"Here’s How to Best Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower","datePublished":"2026-05-01T23:08:26.964Z","dateModified":"2026-05-12T07:05:37.073Z","description":"In just a few days, you could have the chance to see the shower at its peak.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-when-how-to-watch/","keywords":["Space","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d2c09d76c4eea51/69f528aed9327430c812fae8/Meteor-Shower-Eta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chantelle Lee","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chantelle-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8d2c09d76c4eea51/69f528aed9327430c812fae8/Meteor-Shower-Eta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Meteor-Shower-Eta.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Thilina Kaluthotage—NurPhoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/05/01/eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-when-how-to-watch/","name":"Here’s How to Best Watch the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower"}}]}] ```