MANILA, Philippines—Stargazers, take note: The Eta Aquarid meteor showers will be visible on the pre-dawn sky on May 5 or May 6.

According to the astronomical diary of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the meteors will radiate from the constellation of Aquarius on the eastern sky, particularly from the Y-shaped cluster of three stars called the “Eta.”

The radiant, or source, of the showers will lie virtually on the Earth’s equator, giving quite a show for viewers in the southern hemisphere. Observers in southern hemisphere would see about 30 meteors per hour, said PAGASA.

The meteor showers are the first of two showers in the year that will be visible when the Earth passes close to the orbit of Halley’s Comet. The second is the Orionid meteor showers in October.

According to Astronomy magazine’s website, the Eta Aquarid meteors start as small dust from Halley's Comet during its trips around the Sun. Every May, the Earth encounters the comet's debris stream. The particles travel fast — some at nearly 150,000 mph. As they enter earth’s atmosphere, they burn up and create an incandescent column of air we view as the meteor.

The Eta Aquarids are also one of the year’s consistently good meteor showers and are actually active from April 19 to May 28 and will peak on May 6, according to the website. It added that around 60 meteors could be observed per hour and that the best time to watch out for the showers would be around 3 a.m.

Other significant astronomical events this month, according to PAGASA, are the moon at apogee, or farthest distance from the Earth, on May 11, and the moon at perigee, or the nearest distance to the Earth, on May 26.