The Eta Aquariids peak on 6 May. The best night depends on where you are.
The best night is 5–6 May in the Americas, and 6–7 May in Africa, Asia and most of Europe and Oceania. The moon is new, so the night is dark from twilight to twilight. The radiant, in Aquarius, stands highest before dawn: from a dark site, expect about 20 meteors an hour at best in most of them, and up to 36 where it climbs highest.
Where you are
Your placeWorked out when the page opens
Dark sky—
The moon—
When to watch—
The radiant—
At a dark site—
The Americas
Atlanta5–6 May · 4:03 – 5:10 AM · radiant 23° up · about 19 an hour
Austin5–6 May · 3:55 – 5:15 AM · radiant 26° up · about 21 an hour
Bogotá5–6 May · 2:11 – 4:31 AM · radiant 44° up · about 33 an hour
Boston5–6 May · 3:18 – 3:41 AM · radiant 14° up · about 11 an hour
Buenos Aires5–6 May · 3:14 – 6:07 AM · radiant 42° up · about 32 an hour
Chicago5–6 May · 3:23 – 3:49 AM · radiant 15° up · about 12 an hour
Dallas5–6 May · 3:52 – 5:03 AM · radiant 24° up · about 20 an hour
Denver5–6 May · 3:31 – 4:09 AM · radiant 17° up · about 14 an hour
Houston5–6 May · 3:45 – 5:07 AM · radiant 27° up · about 22 an hour
Las Vegas5–6 May · 3:08 – 4:05 AM · radiant 21° up · about 17 an hour
Lima5–6 May · 2:23 – 5:03 AM · radiant 48° up · about 36 an hour
Los Angeles5–6 May · 3:19 – 4:25 AM · radiant 23° up · about 19 an hour
Mexico City5–6 May · 2:55 – 4:47 AM · radiant 36° up · about 28 an hour
Miami5–6 May · 3:42 – 5:17 AM · radiant 30° up · about 24 an hour
Minneapolis5–6 May · 3:49 – 3:54 AM · radiant 11° up · about 9 an hour
Montréal5–6 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Nashville5–6 May · 3:15 – 4:11 AM · radiant 20° up · about 17 an hour
New Orleans5–6 May · 3:24 – 4:45 AM · radiant 26° up · about 21 an hour
New York5–6 May · 3:28 – 4:01 AM · radiant 15° up · about 13 an hour
Philadelphia5–6 May · 3:32 – 4:09 AM · radiant 16° up · about 13 an hour
Phoenix5–6 May · 2:54 – 4:02 AM · radiant 23° up · about 19 an hour
Portland5–6 May · 3:47 – 3:48 AM · radiant 10° up · about 8 an hour
Rio de Janeiro5–6 May · 2:09 – 4:57 AM · radiant 47° up · about 35 an hour
Salt Lake City5–6 May · 3:59 – 4:32 AM · radiant 15° up · about 13 an hour
San Diego5–6 May · 3:14 – 4:25 AM · radiant 24° up · about 20 an hour
San Francisco5–6 May · 3:38 – 4:27 AM · radiant 19° up · about 16 an hour
Santiago5–6 May · 3:02 – 5:55 AM · radiant 43° up · about 33 an hour
São Paulo5–6 May · 2:23 – 5:11 AM · radiant 47° up · about 34 an hour
Seattle5–6 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Toronto5–6 May · 3:52 – 4:07 AM · radiant 12° up · about 10 an hour
Vancouver5–6 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Washington, DC5–6 May · 3:38 – 4:21 AM · radiant 18° up · about 15 an hour
Europe
Amsterdam6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Athens6–7 May · 3:53 – 4:41 AM · radiant 19° up · about 15 an hour
Barcelona6–7 May · 4:22 – 4:51 AM · radiant 15° up · about 12 an hour
Berlin6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Brussels6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Copenhagen6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Dublin6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Edinburgh6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Hamburg6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Helsinki6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Istanbul6–7 May · 3:35 – 4:06 AM · radiant 16° up · about 13 an hour
Lisbon6–7 May · 4:05 – 4:49 AM · radiant 18° up · about 14 an hour
London6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Madrid5–6 May · 4:47 – 5:21 AM · radiant 16° up · about 13 an hour
Milan6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Moscow6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Munich6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Nice6–7 May · 4:04 – 4:18 AM · radiant 12° up · about 9 an hour
Oslo6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Paris6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Porto6–7 May · 4:05 – 4:36 AM · radiant 15° up · about 12 an hour
Prague6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Reykjavík6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Rome6–7 May · 3:41 – 4:07 AM · radiant 14° up · about 11 an hour
Stockholm6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Venice7–8 May · 3:44 – 3:45 AM · radiant 10° up · about 7 an hour
Vienna6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Warsaw6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Zürich6–7 May · No dark sky with the radiant up
Africa
Cairo6–7 May · 3:18 – 4:39 AM · radiant 26° up · about 21 an hour
Cape Town6–7 May · 3:07 – 5:59 AM · radiant 43° up · about 31 an hour
Lagos6–7 May · 3:01 – 5:18 AM · radiant 43° up · about 31 an hour
Marrakesh6–7 May · 3:55 – 5:11 AM · radiant 26° up · about 20 an hour
Nairobi6–7 May · 2:47 – 5:15 AM · radiant 46° up · about 33 an hour
Asia
Bali6–7 May · 2:33 – 5:10 AM · radiant 48° up · about 36 an hour
Bangkok6–7 May · 2:35 – 4:38 AM · radiant 39° up · about 30 an hour
Beijing6–7 May · 2:44 – 3:22 AM · radiant 16° up · about 14 an hour
Bengaluru6–7 May · 2:36 – 4:41 AM · radiant 40° up · about 30 an hour
Delhi6–7 May · 2:43 – 4:09 AM · radiant 27° up · about 22 an hour
Hong Kong6–7 May · 2:43 – 4:27 AM · radiant 34° up · about 27 an hour
Kyoto6–7 May · 2:23 – 3:25 AM · radiant 21° up · about 18 an hour
Mumbai6–7 May · 2:56 – 4:49 AM · radiant 36° up · about 28 an hour
Osaka6–7 May · 2:24 – 3:27 AM · radiant 23° up · about 19 an hour
Seoul6–7 May · 3:00 – 3:50 AM · radiant 19° up · about 16 an hour
Shanghai6–7 May · 2:18 – 3:34 AM · radiant 25° up · about 21 an hour
Singapore6–7 May · 3:19 – 5:44 AM · radiant 46° up · about 34 an hour
Taipei6–7 May · 2:14 – 3:51 AM · radiant 30° up · about 25 an hour
Tel Aviv6–7 May · 3:05 – 4:18 AM · radiant 24° up · about 19 an hour
Tokyo6–7 May · 2:08 – 3:07 AM · radiant 22° up · about 18 an hour
Oceania
Auckland6–7 May · 2:43 – 5:36 AM · radiant 42° up · about 33 an hour
Brisbane6–7 May · 2:05 – 4:56 AM · radiant 46° up · about 35 an hour
Honolulu5–6 May · 2:51 – 4:37 AM · radiant 34° up · about 28 an hour
Melbourne6–7 May · 2:42 – 5:36 AM · radiant 41° up · about 32 an hour
Perth6–7 May · 2:36 – 5:28 AM · radiant 44° up · about 33 an hour
Sydney6–7 May · 2:15 – 5:08 AM · radiant 43° up · about 33 an hour
How it is worked out
The showerThe International Meteor Organization puts the Eta Aquariids’ rate at 50 an hour at the peak, for a radiant overhead under a perfectly dark sky. The rate here falls away on either side of the peak as the organization’s profile does.
The nightThe peak is an instant, 2027-05-06 15:10 UTC this time. Each place’s night is the one, of the three around it, whose best hour shows the most meteors.
The radiantThe radiant is the point the meteors seem to come from, in Aquarius, at -1° of declination. The higher it stands, the more meteors reach your sky: the rate here is the shower’s times the sine of its height.
The dark and the moonDark is the sun 18° below the horizon. The moon’s light hides the fainter meteors, so the hours to watch are the dark ones after it sets, read through the night to the minute.
Your own skyThe rates are for a dark site with a clear sky. Street lights hide most meteors, so a town shows far fewer, and cloud shows none.
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