6 May 2017

Meteor showers tipped for very early morning

8:56 pm on 6 May 2017

Hundreds of meteors are lighting up the early morning skies this weekend.

Meteor showers are lighting up the early morning skies (file picture).

Meteor showers are lighting up the early morning skies (file picture). Photo: 123RF

The Eta Aquarid shower is an annual display made up from the dust and debris left over from Halley's comet.

A spokesperson from the Auckland Astronomical Society, Andrew Buckingham, said viewers may see up to 30 meteors an hour.

Mr Buckingham said the centre of the shower was the Aquarius constellation, which rises in the north-east.

"Any fine night outside you will see the odd meteor flit across the sky, with the meteor showers they are more frequent.

"This one comes from the, or the centre part of it is from Aquarius which is visible in the early morning skies for us at the moment and you'll see maybe tens per hour of meteors going through."

Mr Buckingham said around 3am is the best viewing time, depending on the brightness of the moon.

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