Eta Aquarid meteor shower 2019: When, where and how to photograph the Eta Aquarids

(Image credit: Haitong Yu/Getty Images)

The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will reach its peak on the 5 and 6 May 2019. Although technically the most prolific meteor shower of the year is the Geminids in December, when it's possible to see up to 120 shooting stars per hour, Aquarids are worth trying out – especially as night time temperatures should be more favorable for most astrophotographers. 

Of course, with the right astrophotography tips it's possible to photograph shooting stars on any night of the year. But meteor showers incredibly high activity – and lots of opportunity for stunning night sky photography. So what is the Eta Aquarid meteor shower? And why does it happen? 

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Jamie Carter
Astrophotography expert

Jamie has been writing about all aspects of technology for over 14 years, producing content for sites like TechRadar, T3, Forbes, Mashable, MSN, South China Morning Post, and BBC Wildlife, BBC Focus and BBC Sky At Night magazines. 

As the editor for www.WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com, he has a wealth of enthusiasm and expertise for all things astrophotography, from capturing the Perseid Meteor Shower, lunar eclipses and ring of fire eclipses, photographing the moon and blood moon and more.

He also brings a great deal of knowledge on action cameras, 360 cameras, AI cameras, camera backpacks, telescopes, gimbals, tripods and all manner of photography equipment.