Technologies

The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower Will Peak Monday Night: Here’s How to Watch

Pro stargazers and novice spectators alike will want to get outside on May 5 to see the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.

There’s going to be a glowing light in the sky between Tuesday and Wednesday as the Earth passes through the cosmic debris of Halley’s comet. The Eta Aquarids shower is the third major meteor shower of the year and is active from mid-April through late May. The densest debris patch, also called the peak, is where we’ll see the most activity. That’s what’s happening across the globe on the night of May 5 and into the morning of May 6.

While the Aquarid meteor showers generally don’t yield the big flashes of light called fireballs, they’re known for their speed and the glowing trails they leave across the sky. According to NASA, these meteors shoot at 40.7 miles per second across the sky. Light trails can last between several seconds to minutes.

Read more: Best iPhone in 2025

«The Eta Aquarids are a meteor shower that is especially cool because it is fueled by Halley’s Comet,» Emily Rice, associate professor of astrophysics at Macaulay Honors College, told CNET.

Halley’s comet is one of the most famous comets, and passes through the inner solar system every 76 years. Even though Halley’s comet is nowhere near Earth right now, it leaves its mark with the meteor showers born from the trail of dust the comet leaves in its orbital stream.

Back in 1986, when the comet last swung through the inner solar system, it lost about 1/1,000th of its mass. Rice said that the dust trail crosses Earth’s orbit twice, which gives us two yearly meteor showers: the Eta Aquarid shower and the Orionid shower in October.

The Eta Aquarid shower is your last chance to see any meteors for a few months. The next one will be in late July.

How to see the Eta Aquarid meteor shower

The Eta Aquarid shower can be seen anywhere around the world, as long as you aren’t at extreme northern or southern latitudes. The southern hemisphere gets the best views because the Eta Aquarids will be higher in the sky. Northern Hemisphere dwellers should expect to see «earthgrazers,» or long meteors near the horizon that look to skim the surface of the Earth.

«The shower is expected to peak at about 50 meteors an hour,» Rice said. Which means you’ll be waiting between meteor appearances. The longer you’re outside and the darker the sky is, the more you’ll see.

Stay away from lights, if you can

As with any meteor shower, you’ll get the best view at night, between midnight and dawn, when there is the least light. You’ll want to go to a location without much light from buildings or street lights.

According to the American Meteor Society, the circumstances for seeing the Eta Aquarid shower are excellent because the first quarter moon will set long before the radiant rises. The radiant is where the shower appears to originate from. In the case of the Eta Aquarid shower, that’s the Aquarius constellation, so that’s a good place to start looking.

«The constellation of Aquarius won’t be visible in the night sky until after midnight, so this is a meteor shower for night owls or early birds,» Rice added.

You won’t step out of your door and see them

You don’t need a flashy camera or special equipment to watch a meteor shower. However, you shouldn’t expect to step outside and see it immediately. Your eyes need time to adjust to the darkness. So bring a blanket, chair or just lie in the grass, and get comfortable. Rice said that it will take about 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt and the meteors to appear.

The shower will peak Monday night though Rice said that we could potentially see meteors from Halley’s comet for two to three weeks after the peak.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Dec. 26

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 26.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Some of the clues are tough today — I thought maybe 1-Across was referring to the Grinch, or even Oscar the Grouch, but was I ever wrong! Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Furry and green, say
Answer: MOSSY

6A clue: State known for its potatoes
Answer: IDAHO

7A clue: Like a faithful friend
Answer: LOYAL

8A clue: Had a beverage
Answer: DRANK

9A clue: Pronoun frequently paired with «her»
Answer: SHE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Not spicy, as salsa
Answer: MILD

2D clue: Reasons for wrinkled noses
Answer: ODORS

3D clue: Words from a doctor checking your tonsils
Answer: SAYAH

4D clue: Comedian Gillis
Answer: SHANE

5D clue: Part of an egg used to make hollandaise sauce
Answer: YOLK

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Dec. 26, #459

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Dec. 26, No. 459.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. That purple category once again has players looking for a different, but related, hidden word in four of the clues. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Big Apple jock.

Green group hint: College football fun.

Blue group hint: On the road.

Purple group hint: Hunt down a word in other words.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A New York athlete.

Green group: Bowl games.

Blue group: Associated with a team road trip.

Purple group: Ends in a movement verb.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a New York athlete. The four answers are Islander, Net, Ranger and Yankee.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is bowl games. The four answers are Alamo, Gator, Liberty and Pinstripe.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with a team road trip. The four answers are bus, flight, hotel and visiting locker room.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends in a movement verb. The four answers are foxtrot (trot), newsprint (sprint), terrace (race) and thunderbolt (bolt).

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26, #929

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 26 #929

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is full of fun pop-culture references. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Golden state cliches.

Green group hint: Funny films.

Blue group hint: Rock on.

Purple group hint: Not white.