Tau Herculids Meteor Shower: Bay Area Should Be Ready to See Shooting Stars in the Sky Tonight

NASA has called the Tau Herculids meteor shower an all-or-nothing event that could happen, peaking on the night of May 30 to the early morning of May 31, or not. As Science Times previously reported, Earth is on a collision course with the broken-up comet dubbed 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann (SW3), which shattered in 1995.

Despite the "hit or miss" status, the American space agency says astronomers are excited about a potential swarm of new shooting stars that may create quite the light show in the atmosphere.

(Photo : STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images)
In this composite photograph 15 Perseid meteors are seen over Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in the early morning hours of August 13, 2018. -

Tau Herculids Meteor Shower Might Be Visible in the Bay Area

NASA is optimistic about the Tau Herculids meteor shower even as they employ a wait-and-see approach. Meteor watchers estimate about 10,000 to 100,000 meteors per hour, New York Times reported. If it is true, then it will probably be a meteor storm and perhaps one of the biggest displays in history.

Astronomers said that the meteor shower could be visible by 10 pm Pacific Time, and skywatchers need only to see it from the star Arcturus near the constellation Big Dipper's last stars of its handle.

Residents in Bay Area are lucky to have favorable weather for any celestial event on Monday night. The sky is expected to be clear with a new moon. Experts advised people to avoid viewing the Tau Herculids meteor shower with city light pollution to enjoy it.

International Meteor Organization's secretary-general Robert Lunsford told the Times that the meteor shower will only be short and if it does not happen by 10 pm Pacific time or 1 am Eastern time, then that would mean nothing is happening, or it is a non-event.

ALSO READ: Tau Herculids Meteor Shower: Why Shattering Comet SW 3's Celestial Show Next Week Is Still Unconfirmed?

Will Tau Herculids Happen As Predicted?

Since it is an all-or-nothing event, NASA says it is important to keep expectations open. In their blog post on May 27, the space agency wrote that if the fragments were ejected at speeds twice the average speeds, there might be a meteor shower.

However, NASA also pointed out that events like this do not usually live up to expectations, like what happened to the 2019 Alpha Monocerotid shower. Back then, they predicted 400 to 1,000 meteors per hour, but it turns to be a bust. So, NASA urges people to manage their expectations for Tau Herculids and look beyond headlines.

On the other hand, Space.com reported that footage from the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope suggests that there is reason to be excited as the debris from comet SW3 was seen moving fast enough in 2009.

NASA added that even if Tau Herculids meteor shower hits the atmosphere, its debris will move slower than meteor standards and will generate a faint glow. So, better check the weather forecast to see if it is a clear night sky like the coasts of California, San Francisco, and Portland.