Moscow residents will be able to see the Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower this week, the TASS news agency reported Tuesday, citing representatives of the Moscow planetarium.
"The meteor shower will climax at 11 p.m. on Thursday. The best time to make a wish on a shooting star would be Thursday night, when the expected number of meteors will reach 40 per hour," the planetarium employee noted.
According to the head of the Astronomical Complex of the Moscow planetarium, Yaroslav Turilov, no special equipment will be required to observe the meteor shower. "They are clearly visible to the naked eye in the small hours and away from the city lights," he said, TASS reported.
This month will be marked with a few more astronomical events. On May 9, Mercury is expected to begin its inferior conjunction with the Sun — the planet will pass in front of the Sun's disk. The conjunction will be visible through a telescope, if the weather is sunny.
The Moscow planetarium will open its observatory for those who wish to watch the natural phenomenon. Muscovites will get another chance to observe Mercury's conjunction only in 2032.
At the very end of the month, on May 31, Mars will come closest to Earth, which means one of the Red Planet's polar caps will be visible.
