Make a wish on a shooting star this month by catching two bright, brilliant meteor showers in the Pittsburgh sky! The η-Aquariid and the η-Lyrid Meteor Showers will be joining the night sky this May.

Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through clouds of debris in its orbit around the Sun. This debris is left behind from comets and asteroids in our solar system. When one of these pieces of debris collides with Earth’s atmosphere, it creates a shining display of fiery streaks of light against the dark sky. The objects burn up in the atmosphere at altitudes between 43 and 62 miles.

Meteor showers are best seen at their “radiant point” in the sky, which is the region where the meteors appear to originate from the perspective of the observer.

The η-Aquariid Meteor Shower will be active now through to Thurs., May 28, with a peak rate of meteors tomorrow May 6. They’ll be visible in Pittsburgh around 2:54 a.m. each night with a radiant point above the Eastern horizon in the constellation Aquarius.

The η-Lyrid Meteor Shower is active now through Thurs., May 14, peaking this Fri., May 8. The radiant point is above the horizon in Pittsburgh all night, so these streaks will be visible throughout the evening. The best displays will be before dawn as the radiant point is at its highest around 5 a.m.