Big shooting star show set to light up our self-iso lives

"This shower happens to be one of if not the best in the Southern Hemisphere", AccuWeather astronomy blogger Dave Samuhel said.

Now the southern hemisphere has the best viewing for this shower, but we in the northern hemisphere still have a good chance.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Kiwis will be treated to an impressive meteor shower. This includes Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America. With their apparent radiant located in the constellation of Aquarius, the showers are an annual event that lasts several weeks (April 19th - May 28th).

The meteor shower should be visible without specialist equipment and timeanddate.com says all stargazers need is a something to lay on and plenty of patience.

Clouds could also spoil the meteor shower over the Pacific Northwest as a storm moves into the region.

Since the skies are clear, and we've steered clear from the rainy forecasts for the day, we're lined up to have a grand view of the spectacle this evening.

"You can see them from anywhere as long as the sky is clear", Lunsford said. In Australia, stargazers reported up to 37 meteors per hour in good conditions.

NASA said: "Come prepared with a sleeping bag, blanket or lawn chair".

People should also avoid looking toward the moon, which will be above the horizon for most of the night.

"You should be able to see detailed craters with the naked eye -you may even see it cast moon shadows on the ground", he says.

This year the shower will peak on the morning of May 6 between 2AM and 5AM.

"Look towards the East and the sky should be putting on a show for you", he said.

The Eta Aquarids can be seen in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The dust particles are burning up about 80km from the Earth's surface.

The comet was named after English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), who proved for the first time that this comet, like many other others, repeatedly returns to the Earth's skies after the same period of time.

Each year, when Earth collides with the comet's orbit, vaporizing debris comes flying into our atmosphere at a whopping 148,000 miles per hour, according to NASA, making the meteors well known for their speed.

What are the Eta Aquarids?