Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower — Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

About this spectacle

High in the Chilean Andes at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, the Eta Aquariid meteor shower offers one of the Southern Hemisphere's premier annual meteor displays. Active in early May, this shower is produced by debris from Halley's Comet, and southern latitudes enjoy a distinct advantage — the radiant climbs higher in the pre-dawn sky, delivering more meteors per hour than northern sites. Visitors lying back on the dark mountain plateau watch streaks of fast-moving light score the Milky Way, which blazes vividly at over 2,200 metres elevation with minimal light pollution. The cold pre-dawn air, absolute silence broken only by wind, and the knowledge that you are watching comet dust burn at 66 km/s creates a visceral sense of cosmic scale. The professional telescope domes silhouetted against the star field add a striking visual backdrop to the experience.

When to go

May

Getting there

Nearest airport: LSC. Nearest city: La Serena.

Booking options

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