Meteor Shower In Eastern Colorado Sky As Halley’s Crumbs Fly By

You've probably heard of Halley's Comet - either pronounced "Hay-Lee" or "Hal-Lee," depending on where you grew up. The last time it/she was visible to us was back in 1986 and she's not slated to return until 2061.

Related: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS passed over Colorado last fall

That's because it takes the comet roughly 75-79 years to make its way around the sun, becoming again visible to the naked eyes here on earth.

But the cool thing is once a year, even though you can't see the comet you still get to see its crumbs in the form of a meteor shower every May.

And one of those events is happening this week, called "Halley's Crumbs" or more technically, the "Eta Aquarid" shower. It's best visible from the southern hemisphere of the planet, but for those of us in the north, we're not entirely out of luck.

RELATED: What Is The Annual Fall Meteor Shower Like In Colorado?

This year's "Eta Aquarid" shower peaks over the next few days, and the best chance to see some of the crumbs skipping off our atmosphere will be between 3 and 4 AM, if you want to set an alarm to get up in the middle of the night.

The cool thing about it is that it'll appear in the far eastern sky, close to the horizon and will appear mostly horizontal, streaking across the entire sky, not just a quickie coming at you.

So how do you spot the Halley's Crumbs meteor shower in Colorado?

Best way to do it is to lay on a long lawn chair pointing south. Make you you keep your eyes moving - look around the entire sky, but keep in mind the streaks will be coming from the east. The real challenge - and this is a big one - is we have clouds and rain in the forecast the next couple days, so wait for a clear moment and get out there to have a look.