Should we be prepared for a storm tonight?
As Earth plows into the debris stream from 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, it appears a few meteors could have fallen into our atmosphere.
The new shower is called the tau Herculids and is expected to peak tonight. They have been seen in many countries in projects led by Spain and NASA.
The Institute of Space Sciences is coordinating Spain's Fireballs and Meteorites Research Network.
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One of the posts said "Ready for the campaign?" along with footage of a slow- moving meteor getting quite bright in an all-sky camera. Space.com translated the Spanish.
How to watch the potential Herculids meteor storm live online tonight.
¡PRIMER BÓLIDO TAU HERCÚLIDA #SPMN270522H! Registrado ayer viernes sobre #Aragón por Antonio Lasala @AntonioLG1 a las 23h57m46s TUC. Ojalá sea el anuncio de muchos más fragmentos del cometa #73P #SW3 en las próximas noches. ¿Preparados para la campaña? 🤩https://t.co/TcmTt2hGHM pic.twitter.com/cm0gPwbCvAMay 28, 2022
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The first bolide was recorded in the evening. From three different locations, all caught on camera. There were recorded viewing spots in Aragon, Madrid, and Valencia.
The network posted a video of the Valencian meteor along with a description of the aggregates that created a train of fragments.
2) ESE MISMO BÓLIDO fue registrado a 5 frames/s por el Dr. Jaime Zamorano desde Madrid #M30 @ObservaUCM @Fisicas_UCM.Los registros nos da una noción de lo espectacular que puede llegar a ser una actividad meteórica alta de bólidos del cometa 73P/Schwassman-Wachmann 3@cefalopodo pic.twitter.com/gYlEalOdDIMay 28, 2022
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3) MÁS LEJANO FUE REGISTRADO desde #Barx, #València por Jordi Donet @DonetJorge. Estos agregados, al desintegrarse a baja velocidad geocéntrica (<15>May 28, 2022
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There were probable Herculids recorded from Friday to Sunday. The project is led by a research scientist at the SETI Institute.
The network noted that it is unclear if the early show is related to the shower or not. There is no indication yet that there will be a lot of meteorites.
There were five tau Herculids spotted Friday at CAMS locations in Texas, Arizona, Namibia, and Be NeLux. On Saturday and Sunday, there were more meteors found at CAMS locations in Arkansas, Arizona, and California.
Some shooting stars were as faint as magnitude 13 and the peak brightness was -3 magnitude. A typical observer in dark sky conditions can see stars as faint as magnitude 6 with their naked eye.
Some of these were bright enough to be photographed, but overall the distribution implies a shower rich in faint meteors. The majority of the meteors were close to the detection limit of typical video cameras.
You can watch the sky show on the east and west coast. NASA suggests people look at the constellation Bo F6;tes, which is somewhat north-northwest of its bright star Arcturus.
It's a regular thing for meteorite showers. If the tau Herculids are not as bright as they could be, get read for the next ones using our upcoming meteor showers. August will be a good month to look forward to, as the bright Perseids peak in August.
If you want to photograph the Herculid meteor shower or want to prepare your gear for the next skywatching event, check out our best cameras for Astrophotography. For more helpful tips to plan out your photo session, read our guide on how to photograph meteors and meteor showers.
If you take a picture of the Herculids meteor shower and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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