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Haley’s Comet and the Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower

June 23rd, 2009

When observing meteor showers today as then, you will notice they appear to originate from a hidden point in the sky, this is called a radiant. The radiant for the Eta Aquarids is near the star Eta Aquarius, and varies in inferred size by 5 to 7 degrees depending on celestial mechanics. The meteors streak across the sky from a point in space near the star; hubble space telescope tracing the paths they make will take you back to this point of origin. Most meteor showers are gravel and sand-grain sized specks that are left over from the nucleus of a comet as it passes the Sun.  

Entry Filed under: Technology