Halley’s Comet won’t revisit Earth until 2061 but each time it passes by the Sun, it leaves a trail of cosmic litter behind it. It is that trail of debris that gives us the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The most spectacular version of the light show will be seen in Australia but if you look in the right places, at the right time, you will be able to see it from the Northern Hemisphere as well.

Light pollution is never good for meteor watchers or astronomers in general, but for this shower it is going to present special problems. The meteor shower will hit its peak just before dawn which means that as soon as the Sun starts to come up, it will be very hard to see. It is also going to be most visible just above the horizon, which means that if you are close to any kind of city lights it will be difficult to see the meteors.

However, for dedicated sky watchers it will still be possible to see Eta Aquarid which will produce 50-60 meteors per hour at its peak. The best hope for those in the north is seeing an “earthgrazer” which is a meteor that skims the atmosphere horizontally.

“Earthgrazers are rarely numerous. But even if you only see a few, you’re likely to remember them,” Bill Cooke, a member of the Space Environments team at the Marshall Space Flight Center told Space.com. 

For those dedicated enough to try to catch Eta Aquarid despite the obstacles there are several resources available. The Clear Sky Chart bills itself as “the astronomers forecast.” Whatever is happening, the site will tell you what to look for and where to look. They also have a handy list of resources including “dark sky preserves” and campgrounds.

Astronomy clubs can also be helpful, especially for novice sky watchers. The members of the astronomy club can help you find what you are looking for and will probably have better equipment than the average newbee. A listing of clubs across the United States and around the world is available at Astronomyclubs.com.

Finally, if all else fails, the Slooh Community Observatory will have a live stream of the event on YouTube while NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will host a live feed on Ustream.

The Orionid meteor shower, also spawned by Halley’s Comet, will be visible in October.