Eta Aquariids in Beijing

The Eta Aquariids meteor shower peaks from Beijing around May 5-6, with up to 40 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. In 2026 a new moon means dark skies, and from Beijing the radiant in Aquarius climbs to 16° above the east horizon around 03:20. Local best viewing window: 02:40–03:20 CST on the peak night, about 0.7 hours of astronomical darkness. Scaled to that altitude, the 40/hour headline figure works out to roughly 11 meteors an hour from Beijing under a genuinely dark sky. The radiant stays low from Beijing, so expect fewer meteors but longer, shallower trails near the horizon. Tonight: mostly clouded over — breaks will be brief.