In early May 2025 the annually recurring Eta Aquariid meteor shower will grace the night sky. The meter shower peaks on May 5 and May 6, but the best time to watch it is actually the week prior to avoid interference from the waxing moon. Depending on your location, you can expect to see anywhere from 10 to as many as 50 shooting stars per hour.
While approximately 30 meteor showers are visible from Earth each year, the Eta Aquariids (pronounced ah-QUARE-ee-id) have perhaps the most famous parent of them all: Comet Halley. The bright comet was the first to be predicted by astronomers as a recurring event and can be seen passing Earth approximately every 75 years.
Every May, our planet moves through the Halley’s jettisoned detritus, producing the Eta Aquariid shower. Each meteoroid is smaller than a grain of sand, but they’re moving at over 200,000 kilometers per hour, so they have a lot of energy and generate a lot of light when they streak across the heavens. No matter how often you may see it, the excitement of watching this incredible night sky event never fades.
Below, astronomer and Condé Nast Traveler contributor Phil Plait breaks down everything you need to know to see the meteor shower this May, including an overview of the science behind what causes this annual cosmic rainfall.
When is the best time to see the meteor shower?
The Eta Aquariids is active from April 19 to May 28. However, it’s important to plan around the moon phases when scheduling your viewing—as always, the darker the sky the better.
On May 5 and 6 the moon sets at around 3:00 a.m. and will be more than half full, so it will light up the sky before setting. It gets brighter and sets later every night leading up to the full moon on May 12, which means the week preceding May 6 may be your best window for catching the show.
Showers tend to peak after midnight—this is when the night side of Earth is facing into the direction of its orbit around the sun, so we see the meteors head-on (rather like how rain hits your front windshield when you drive in a storm rather than the rear window). This means the best hours for viewing are late at night or early morning before dawn.
Where can you see the Eta Aquariid shower?
The shower should be visible anywhere on Earth, but the Eta Aquariid radiant (more on that later) is somewhat low in the sky for most people in North America, so those located in the United States will typically only be able to see between 10 and 30 meteors per hour.
The radiant is directly overhead of people on the equator, meaning the best view will be from countries like Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Uganda, Kenya, and Indonesia. From here, seeing 50 meteors per hour is typical.
