Coming May 31: Intense Meteor Shower Over Massachusetts

Oh, I so hope that the burst of thousands of beautiful meteor streams soaring through our skies is the light show it's supposed to be. Talk about getting the chills as thousands of streams of light fly through our sky.

According to Earth Sky, models are predicting that a comet that split apart in 1995 (and is still fragmenting) is on track to enter our orbit. That means we’ll see a grand display of meteors like nothing New England has seen in most of our lifetimes.

The meteor shower is called the Tau Herculids, and it orbits the sun every 5.4 years, according to Earth Sky. So, if May 31, isn't our time, then this July or August could be it. Earth Sky says Tau Herculids is a comet that astronomers and scientists are keeping close tabs on.

According to Universe Today, the early morning of May 31 at around 1 a.m. is when Tau Herculid, discovered in 1930, should burst into our atmosphere.

When comets travel close to the sun, they lay down debris streams of dust shed during their inner solar system passage.  If a planet happens to be in the way (such as the Earth) a meteor shower occurs, witnessed as silent flitting streaks through the sky.

Universe Today adds that this rare meteor shower from such an obscure comet will consist of a thousand streams flashing through the sky in mere seconds, but could last for up to an hour.

Welcome to the wonderful world of meteor shower predictions and prognostications where Earth is due to cross a couple key streams and believe me if this happens, a meteor outburst approaching a thousand meteors per hour is an unforgettable sight.

If you recall, New England had a bit of a show with the Geminid in December 2021, according to NECN.  And, of course, there was that fireball sighting in April of 2021, according to WMUR, when an unexpected meteor entered New England skies.

I'm so ready for this, so fingers crossed these models stay true and we can end Memorial Day Weekend with quite the light show.