Image by Getty Images

By Laura E. Adkins May 1, 2017

Cinco de Mayo and the Sabbath won’t be the only celebrations going down on the night of Friday, May 5 — science nerds will also have a chance to rejoice as the Eta Aquarid meteor shower grants us with its peak performance.

PASS IT ON! The Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower is Friday & Saturday night. 50 meteors possible per hour. Photo: Ben Jacobi. #MeteorShower #Space pic.twitter.com/lcuHDdLrNz

— Mark Tarello (@mark_tarello) May 1, 2017

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Other than just staring at the sky, what’s a good Jew to do?

Like most things in Judaism, there’s a blessing for that.

When witnessing a meteor shower, one can say the blessing one would use for other natural sources of wonder and inspiration: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, oseh ma’aseh bereishit — Blessed are you, Lord Our God, King of the universe, who makes the work of creation.

Laura E. Adkins is the Forward’s contributing network editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @Laura_E_Adkins.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount