May Meteor Showers Guide

May has four visible meteor showers throughout the month with three of them having their peak this month. All of them are visible in the northern hemisphere.

Meteor showers are some of the coolest celestial events to witness. It is not necessary to use a telescope or binoculars to watch them, making them some of the most accessible as well for people that are just getting into astronomy and stargazing.

Every month there are a few meteor showers. They are very consistent and happen every year around the same dates and in the same location in the sky.

If you want to learn more about meteor showers, check out the following articles:

List of May meteor showers

The following are the meteor showers that will happen in the month of May.

The list is sorted by the peak date.

Eta Aquarids (April 19 – May 28)

General Information

NameEta Aquarids
Start dateApril 19
End dateMay 28
PeakMay 6
Comet1P/Halley
Speed66 km/s
Zenithal hourly rate50
BrightnessHigh

Location

ConstellationAquarius
Right ascension22h 20m
Declination-01° 00′ 00″

Eta Lyrids (May 3 – May 14)

General Information

NameEta Lyrids
Start dateMay 3
End dateMay 14
PeakMay 10
CometC/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock)
Speed43 km/s
Zenithal hourly rate3
BrightnessMid

Location

ConstellationLyra
Right ascension19
Declination43° 00′ 00″

Tau Herculids (May 19 – June 14)

General Information

NameTau Herculids
Start dateMay 19
End dateJune 14
PeakMay 31
Comet73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann
Speed16 km/s
Zenithal hourly ratevariable
BrightnessMid

Location

ConstellationBootes
Right ascension13h 56m
Declination28° 00′ 00″

Daytime Arietids (May 14 – June 24)

General Information

NameDaytime Arietids
Start dateMay 14
End dateJune 24
PeakJune 7
Comet1566 Icarus
Speed38 km/s
Zenithal hourly rate30
BrightnessMid

Location

ConstellationAries
Right ascension03h 02m
Declination25° 00′ 00″

Meteor shower guides for other months:

January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December