On Tuesday night, between 8:55 PM and 9:00 PM, residents in northwestern Trinidad observed a meteor streaking through the night sky.
One person who witnessed the spectacle said she saw the space rock burning up as it moved west through the sky, with a yellow/orange mix of a tail, indicating an iron or sodium composition of the meteor. If you may have spotted a fireball or meteor, you can report it to the American Meteor Society, which collates such reports.
While no one was lucky enough to capture the meteor entry, the bright flash was picked up by the GOES-East Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), which detects bright flashes in the atmosphere. Between 8:55 PM and 9:00 PM, the instrument detected a flash west of Trinidad on Venezuela’s Paria Peninsula.
In western Puerto Rico, at 12:57 AM on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023, a similar meteor was captured in their night skies, seeming to emerge from the Moon. According to the Caribbean Astronomical Society, “It was a coincidence, as actually, meteors disintegrate through the atmosphere very close to us, at a height of between 50 and 70 miles from the surface, while the Moon is located much further away, thousands of miles from our planet.”
They added, “In fact, this early morning, our Moon was near its apex or furthest point in its elliptical or oval orbit, about 243.059 miles (391,165 km) from Earth, the educational entity said. So no, it didn’t come from the Moon, although the perspective may be confusing to some.”
Although this meteor is a sporadic one, meaning it is not related to any meteor shower, additional meteors may be visible in the coming mornings, particularly before dawn on May 5th through May 7th. Earth is currently moving through debris related to Comet Halley, which is a minor meteor shower known as Eta Aquarids.
Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower
The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower peaks between Friday, May 5th and Saturday, May 6th, 2023, but has been active since April 19th and will remain active through May 28th.
The radiant, the point in the sky where the Eta Aquarids seem to emerge from, is in the direction of the constellation Aquarius. The shower is named after the brightest star of the constellation, Eta Aquarii.
The Eta Aquarids is one of two meteor showers created by debris from Comet Halley. The Earth passes through Halley’s path around the Sun a second time in October. This creates the Orionid meteor shower, which peaks around October 20th.
Comet Halley takes around 76 years to make a complete revolution around the Sun. The next time it will be visible from Earth is in 2061.
How to view the Eta Aquarids?
For Trinidad and Tobago, viewing conditions are set to be fair at the peak on Friday night into Saturday night. Look towards the east, near the horizon, particularly after midnight.
You don’t need any special equipment or a lot of skills to view a meteor shower. Even though all you really need is a clear sky, lots of patience. Thankfully, mostly clear skies are forecast, though Saharan Dust could make skies a tad hazy.
Find a secluded viewing spot, away from the city lights. Once at the venue, your eyes may take 15 to 20 minutes to get used to the dark.
Dress for the weather, and make sure you are comfortable, especially if you plan to stay out long. Bring a blanket or a comfortable chair with you—meteor watching can be a waiting game.
Once you have found your viewing spot, lie down on the ground and look at the sky. You can use an Interactive Meteor Shower Sky Map or apps like Night Sky to find the direction of the radiant. The higher the radiant is above the horizon, the more meteors you are likely to see.
Meteor showers appear to originate from the radiant, but meteors can appear in any part of the sky.
