The Lyrids’ radiant, the constellation Hercules, rises well before midnight, so meteors are visible all night, but are most likely to be seen just before dawn, when the radiant reaches its highest point in the sky.
The Eta Aquariids (May)
The Eta Aquariids are active approximately from mid-April to the end of May. This meteor shower does not have a sharp peak: Elevated activity lasts about a week, with activity peaking for one night in the first week of May.
In the northern hemisphere, the Eta Aquariids are a medium-strength shower that produces about 10 to 30 meteors per hour. According to the American Meteor Society, many of these meteors produce persistent trains. One other thing that makes the Eta Aquariids extra special is that these meteors are actually remnants of the famous Halley’s Comet.
The Eta Aquariids’ radiant, the constellation Aquarius, appears very low in the sky in the northern hemisphere in April and won’t start to peak above the eastern horizon until after 2 am local time. However, meteors from this shower are still visible even when the radiant is just below the horizon.
The Southern Delta Aquariids (July–August)
The Southern Delta Aquariids are active from mid-July to mid- to late August, producing peak activity for about a week at the end of July. Unlike some other meteor showers, the Southern Delta Aquariids don’t have a sharp peak. Instead, the number of meteors per hour gradually increases and then slowly decreases during the period of activity.
The Southern Delta Aquariids’ radiant is the constellation Aquarius.
Although this meteor shower typically yields meteors that are somewhat dimmer and do not have persistent trains, this meteor shower is still worthwhile: You’ll be able to see about 25 shooting stars per hour in ideal viewing conditions.
The Perseids (July–August)
