Up to 30 shooting stars per hour will light up the night sky in Greece when the Eta Aquarids meteor shower reaches its peak on Thursday and Friday.

The annual meteor shower takes place between April 19 and May 28 but will peak this year on Friday (May 6), according to Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Experts say the best time to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon – which will be visible all over the world – will be between midnight and dawn on Friday.

The Aquarids, which come from the tail of the comet of Haley, peak in Greece on the night of Thursday, May 5 to the early hours of Friday, May 6. It is the second spring falling stars after the April Lyrids.

Because it is preceded by the New Moon (April 30), the night sky will be quite dark, which will facilitate Greek stargazers, as long as there are no clouds.

In the northern hemisphere, where our country is located, up to 30 falling stars per hour are expected in the sky, mainly just before dawn, while in the southern hemisphere their number reaches up to 60 meteors per hour, at a speed of 67 km per second. The name “showers” is due to the fact that the scatterers seem to come from the constellation of Aquarius.

Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by a comet, causing pieces of dust and rock to burn up in the atmosphere.

Because meteors can be quite faint, it is best to look out for them in a dark sky, free of moonlight and artificial lights with a wide an unobstructed view of the sky.

Although best viewed from the southern hemisphere, those living at mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere can catch a glimpse of the shower.