According to the IMO, the Eta Aquarids have a broad maximum, so that the ZHR is generally above 30 between 3 May to 10 May (i.e. now till the end of the week).
See last year's activity profile here:
http://www.imo.net/live/eta-aquariids2008/
The peak itself is predicted at 8am Singapore time on Wed 6th May with a ZHR of 85, which is comparable to the more well known showers.
The IMO states that "The fast and often bright meteors make the wait for radiant-rise worthwhile, and many events leave glowing persistent trains after them. While the radiant is still low, η-Aquariids tend to have very long paths..." ( http://www.imo.net/calendar/2009#eta )
Hmmm... sounds tantalising.
The radiant is in Aquarius at R.A. 22h:36min, Dec -01 deg. The radiant rises in Singapore at about 2:45am this week, at due East. At 5am on Wed 6th May, the radiant would be at due East and 33 deg above the horizon and rising. For quick reference, that is approximately mid-way between where Jupiter and Venus are this week; these are the brightest objects in the pre-dawn eastern skies these days.
I've marked out the radiant area in the screen-shot below with a yellow triangle (as at 5am on Wed 6th May 2009 in Singapore). I think it's best to look everywhere up to about 60 degrees around that area, though according to the AMS, "The best portion of the sky to watch is usually an area of sky about 30 degrees away from the radiant point for the shower." ( http://www.amsmeteors.org/faqm.html#6 )
Moon wise, although it may be thought that it would cause interference as we are approaching from 1st Quarter to Full Moon, I don't think it would: see the Moon set times below for Singapore. The Moon would be in the opposite side of the sky (in the West) from Mon to Sun, and would already have set at 4:22am on Wed (sets earlier before Wed). So the Moon would be setting in the West just as the radiant is rising in the East. How convenient.
So, if I have the energy, I'll keep an Eta Aquarids watch from 4am to 6.30am on Mon to Thurs this week, esp on Wed as that time would just be a few hours before the predicted peak time. Given Singapore's heavy light pollution, I think we could see a small handful (or maybe >10?) of Eta Aquarids at those times.
If anyone spots any Eta Aquarids, do post your observations here! I would really like to know as little is written of experiences with Eta Aquarids in Singapore/Malaysia.
[font=Courier New]Mon 4th May 2009: Moon set: 2:52am; Moon phase: 70%
Tue 5th May 2009: Moon set: 3:38am; Moon phase: 79%
Wed 6th May 2009: Moon set: 4:22am; Moon phase: 87%
Thu 7th May 2009: Moon set: 5:08am; Moon phase: 93%
Fri 8th May 2009: Moon set: 5:54am; Moon phase: 97%
Sat 9th May 2009: Moon set: 6:42am; Moon phase: 100% (Full Moon)
Sun 10th May 2009:Moon set: 7:32am; Moon phase: 99% [/font]
For other meteor showers in 2009, see my other thread here:
http://www.singastro.org/viewtopic.php? ... ght=meteor
