Comet Halley’s loss is Earth’s gain. As the comet orbits the Sun, it sheds a bit of ice and dirt from its surface. That debris spreads out along the comet’s path. Earth passes close to that path twice a year. Some of the solid particles ram into our planet, adding a minuscule amount to Earth’s mass.

For skywatchers, the intersection creates two meteor showers, as the comet dust vaporizes in the atmosphere. And one of them is under way now: the Eta Aquariids. The shower’s peak lasts for several nights, centered around tomorrow night. At its best, the shower can produce a few dozen meteors per hour.

Halley is a chunk of rock and ice about seven miles in diameter. On average, it orbits the Sun once every 76 years, although that period varies by a few years.

It’s been recorded in Earth’s night sky for more than 2,000 years. Edmond Halley linked some of those appearances in 1705, demonstrating that a comet can return to view multiple times. Halley also predicted the comet’s next appearance, in 1758. When it showed up at the time he forecast, the comet was named in Halley’s honor.

Over the centuries, the comet’s orbit moves away from Earth a bit. Today, we’re several million miles from that path. As the orbit shifts away, we pick up less and less of the comet dust. That makes the meteor showers less impressive. So over time, the Eta Aquariids will slowly die out.

Script by Damond Benningfield