Some spectacular shooting stars might be streaming across the night sky over Pennsylvania this week as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which is already under way, approaches its peak just before dawn on Saturday, May 6.
As many as 30 meteors per hour might be spotted, according to Bill Cooke, director of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office.
While the number of meteors won't come near that of the more famous Perseid meteor shower in August, the Eta Aquarids can be extremely bright.
However, the radiant point for the meteors - the star Eta Aquarii in the constellation Aquarius - will be rather low in the sky in the Northern Hemisphere, including Pennsylvania.
Best viewing in Pennsylvania will be in a dark-sky location with an open view of the southern horizon.
The space debris field that gives us the Eta Aquarids was left around the Sun by a long-ago passing by Halley's Comet. The bits of debris become meteors as the Earth passes through the debris field each year.
Although the peak of the shower is Saturday morning, some meteors likely will be visible through mid-May.