Meteor shower tonight

A potential meteor shower may emerge from Hercules tonight (May 31-31). Keep your eyes peeled and your fingers crossed.

Read our guide on how to photograph meteors and meteor showers for more helpful tips to plan out your photo session. If the meteor shower doesn't pan out as planned, or you get clouded out or busy, instead consider some upcoming meteor showers of 2022 to plan your next excursion. Another factor behind whether we will see a "storm" or not will be whether Earth passes through the thickest part of the comet's debris stream. The comet has a temperamental history. If you're hoping to photograph the tau Herculid meteor shower, or want to prepare your gear for the next skywatching event, check out our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography. If you're looking for a good camera for meteor showers and astrophotography, our top pick is the Nikon D850. Check out our best cameras for astrophotography for more and prepare for the tau Herculids with our guide on how to photograph a meteor shower.

The shower, dubbed the Tau Herculid shower, will be an "all or nothing" event and if it happens, 1000 shooting stars could fill the skies.

The shower's direction will also be high in the sky at peak times. Astronomers are not certain whether the meteor shower will happen because the comet's debris should be traveling at 10 miles per second—a slow speed when compared to other meteors. It was discovered that the comet continued to shatter, causing it to shine about 600 times brighter. Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through the fragmented remains of a comet or asteroid. But if it does, the sky could be filled with a thousand shooting stars. Since then, it has continued to break apart.

For those on or near the Eastern seaboard, NASA says that the best chance to view the tau Herculid shower will be at around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, or 10 p.m. on the ...

According to NASA, the comet wasn’t seen again until the late 1970s. To increase your chances of watching the celestial event, astronomers say you’ll want to be outside at least an hour before this so your eyes have a chance to adjust to the dark. Scientists say that the planet will be passing through the debris trail of a broken comet that was first discovered nearly 100 years ago.

Observers in North America will have the best view, but there's no guarantee that the Tau Herculids will put on a light show.

People living in areas where the sky will be bright, such as in Australia, can watch the meteor shower online at the Virtual Telescope Project. Astronomer Peter Brown from Western University said as many as 30 to 40 meteors may be visible each hour, but it could be more. The meteor shower will peak at 1:00 a.m. ET on the morning of May 31, or 10:00 p.m. PT on the evening of May 30. Excitingly, observations made with NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2009 “indicate that at least some fragments are moving fast enough,” and “this is one reason why astronomers are excited,” the space agency added. This meteor shower is produced by debris from Comet 73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, and it’s typically very quiet, but the situation is a bit different this year. Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 was discovered in the 1930s and it orbits the Sun once every 5.4 years.

Astronomers at NASA told skywatchers to be on the lookout Monday night for the never-before-seen tau Herculids meteor shower, though they are not sure it ...

On a positive note, a new moon should make conditions ideal to watch the sky show. Cooke says that if the fragments from the source of the meteor shower —comet “SW3″ — were ejected at high speed, a meteor shower should be visible in North America. If the fragments from the comet have slower ejection speeds, none of it will make it to the Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers at NASA told skywatchers to be on the lookout Monday night for the never-before-seen tau Herculids meteor shower, though they are not sure it will even happen.

Stargazers, this could be one for the books! A possible meteor shower will take to the sky tonight, peaking around 1AM eastern time.

SW3 orbits the Sun every 5.4 years. It has continued to fragment further since 1995 and its debris will strike Earth's atmosphere very slowly, according to NASA ...

The Tau Herculids meteor showers happen from May 19 and June 19. Will a new— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) #meteorshower, the tau Herculids, put on a spectacular show the night of May 30-31? But if you have clear weather, the moonless sky should be beautiful for stargazing anyway.

The Tau Herculids, a new meteor shower, has the potential to be stunning on Monday night.

With such a short window for viewing the peak of the potential shower, it will be important to find your viewing spot well before that window. You want to be ready and to have given your eyes time to adjust to the darkness so you can see as many meteors as possible. With such a short window for viewing the peak of the potential shower, it will be important to find your viewing spot well before that window. "If the debris from SW3 was traveling more than 220 miles per hour when it separated from the comet, we might see a nice meteor shower," Cooke said in a NASA blog post. "If the fragments from were ejected with speeds greater than twice the normal speeds--fast enough to reach Earth--we might get a meteor shower," NASA says. \"If the debris had slower ejection speeds, then nothing will make it to Earth and there will be no meteors from this comet.\" \r\n \r\nIf there is something to see, it's a great night for a meteor shower, as long you have clear skies. With such a short window for viewing the peak of the potential shower, it will be important to find your viewing spot well before that window. \"If the debris from SW3 was traveling more than 220 miles per hour when it separated from the comet, we might see a nice meteor shower,\" Cooke said in a NASA blog post. \"If the fragments from were ejected with speeds greater than twice the normal speeds--fast enough to reach Earth--we might get a meteor shower,\" NASA says. With such a short window for viewing the peak of the potential shower, it will be important to find your viewing spot well before that window. \"If the debris from SW3 was traveling more than 220 miles per hour when it separated from the comet, we might see a nice meteor shower,\" Cooke said in a NASA blog post. \"If the fragments from were ejected with speeds greater than twice the normal speeds--fast enough to reach Earth--we might get a meteor shower,\" NASA says.

Skywatchers may be in for a huge treat tonight. The Tau Herculids meteor shower will be visible during the late-night hours of Monday, May 30 into the early ...

While experts are warning it could be an “all or nothing” event, the Tau Herculids shower has the potential to become a “meteor storm,” capable of producing an outburst as many as 1,000 meteors per hour. This is one reason why astronomers are excited. The Tau Herculids meteor shower will be visible during the late-night hours of Monday, May 30 into the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 31st.

Earth is expected to pass through the debris trail of a broken comet on Memorial Day, and it could result in a brand new meteor shower.

So any slow meteor from this general area of the sky can be expected to be from SW3," Lunsford said in a blog post. Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night -- the Alpha Capricornids. Although this is a much weaker shower, it has been known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. So any slow meteor from this general area of the sky can be expected to be from SW3," Lunsford said in a blog post. He said they will appear to radiate from a constellation known as Bootes, northwest of the brilliant orange star known as Arcturus (alpha Bootis). The moon is new, so there will be no moonlight to obscure the meteors. "You need not look directly overhead as meteors may appear in any portion of the sky. If the debris from SW3 was traveling more than 220 miles per hour when it separated from the comet, we might see a nice meteor shower. Interestingly, another meteor shower peaks on the same night -- the Alpha Capricornids. Although this is a much weaker shower, it has been known to produce some bright fireballs during its peak. He said they will appear to radiate from a constellation known as Bootes, northwest of the brilliant orange star known as Arcturus (alpha Bootis). The moon is new, so there will be no moonlight to obscure the meteors. "You need not look directly overhead as meteors may appear in any portion of the sky. If the debris from SW3 was traveling more than 220 miles per hour when it separated from the comet, we might see a nice meteor shower.