MIAMI – Astronomers in North America are hoping to witness a more dramatic meteor shower from 11:45 p.m., on Monday night, to 12:17 a.m., on Tuesday morning.
Astronomers estimate the Earth will pass through some of the debris ejected from the 1995 fragmentation of Jupiter-family comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, also known as SW3, according to the American Meteor Society.
The Tau Herculids meteor showers happen from May 19 and June 19. What’s different this time is that SW3 has continued to fragment further since 1995 and its debris may move fast enough to strike Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA.
Robert Lunsford, of the AMS and the International Meteor Society, suggested skywatchers choose the darkest location possible and start looking for meteors at about 10:45 p.m. just in case the predictions are off.
SW3 orbits the Sun every 5.4 years. Aside from 2022, astronomers also predicted the detectable activity would likely happen in 2049.
Related social media
Will a new #meteorshower, the tau Herculids, put on a spectacular show the night of May 30-31? Maybe, maybe not. But if you have clear weather, the moonless sky should be beautiful for stargazing anyway.
— NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) May 27, 2022
Details: https://t.co/GzrnnIBkMD
All about meteors: https://t.co/SFZJQwdPxf pic.twitter.com/ShKZmc24Mc