NASA predicts the brightest meteor shower of 2022 on May 30-31 as powerful Tau Herculids approach Earth

If you are an astronomy enthusiast, the month of May will bring a special cosmic surprise for you. Thanks to a comet SW3 that has now separated. As a result, a new meteor shower will be visible from the Earth. So, mark your calendar and brace up with your binoculars or telescope to witness the spectacular view.

According to NASA, a powerful meteor shower will appear on May 30 night and continue till May 31 early morning. The courtesy of this meteor show will go to the comet named 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann or SW3. The meteor shower is named Tau Herculids, and it would be one of the most intense lighting displays in the sky this year.

Bill Cooke, the chief of the Meteoroid Environment Office situated at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, confirmed that the upcoming meteor shower would be 'an all or nothing event' as it would cause a striking display in the sky.


NASA confirmed that the tau Herculid would be the extracted debris from SW3 or 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann. The comet was discovered in 1930 by two German observers – Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann. Hence, the comet has been named after them.

After its discovery, SW3 went unnoticed until the late 1970s. Then, the astronomers spotted the comet in 1995 due to its extreme brilliance, which was almost 600 times brighter than its earlier appearance. At that time, the comet could be spotted with the naked eyes as it had smashed into pieces, and it was a scattered orbital trail with debris.

The best time to watch the meteor shower will be from 12:45 p.m. ET to 1:17 a.m. ET, as conveyed by the American Meteor Society. It may be viewed from all of the Central and South American and southeastern Canada, whereas the most favoured locations to watch the high radiant are the southwestern USA and Mexico.