Eta Aquarids meteor shower fizzles over Singapore

Hopes of a celestial spectacle were high, but skywatchers across Singapore were left largely disappointed during the peak of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower in the early hours of May 6 and 7, with several reporting spotting just one meteor over a number of hours.

- Vihanya Rakshika

This particular meteor shower occurs annually when Earth passes through debris left behind by Halley's Comet - arguably the most famous comet in history, known for being visible to the naked eye roughly every 76 years.

The meteor shower is typically more visible in the Southern Hemisphere, where observers may catch up to 50 meteors an hour under ideal conditions.

In Singapore, however, clear skies offered little payoff.

In the early hours of May 6, Lianhe Zaobao photojournalist Jason Lee, who was on assignment at Champions Green - a housing estate near the Singapore Sports School in Woodlands, said he saw only one meteor over 3 1/2 hours.

Speaking with The Straits Times, the photojournalist said: "It didn't feel worth the wait."

He added that the meteor "looked quite different from what one would normally expect a meteor to be".