- This week, skywatchers can enjoy a double meteor shower phenomenon, with the Southern Delta Aquarids and the smaller Alpha Capricornids meteor shower peaking at the same time.
- The Delta Aquariid meteor shower, which will peak on Tuesday morning, should be visible in the Northern Hemisphere at a rate of 15 to 20 meteors per hour.
- During the same period, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower is expected to produce about five meteors per hour.
Get ready for a meteor shower double-header.
The Delta Aquarids meteor shower will peak in late July and this year will occur at the same time as the Alpha Capricornids, the second smallest meteor shower.
The Delta Aquarids meteor shower occurs annually in late summer in North America. This year’s peak activity is expected to occur early Tuesday morning, when 15 to 20 meteors per hour are expected to be visible under dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere. Visibility will be even better in the Southern Hemisphere. According to the American Meteor Society, the meteor shower will last until August 21.
Video captures fireball meteor lighting up Colorado’s early morning sky
Around the same time, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower will produce about five meteors per hour and will continue until August 15th.
A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky above the desert pines at Spring Mountain National Recreation Area in Nevada on August 13, 2015. This year, the Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower, which peaks in late July, will appear at the same time as the smaller Alpha Capricornids meteor shower. The next major meteor shower is the Perseids, which will peak in mid-August. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Here’s what you need to know about the Delta Aquariid meteor shower and other meteor showers.
What are meteor showers?
Meteor showers occur multiple times each year and don’t require any special equipment to observe.
Most meteor showers originate from cometary remains. The Delta Aquarids meteor shower is thought to originate from Comet 96P/Machholz. The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower originates from Comet 169P/NEAT.
When a rock from space enters Earth’s atmosphere, the resistance of the air heats it up so much that it briefly glows and leaves a fiery tail behind it – the end of a “shooting star.”
Glowing chunks of air surrounding fast-moving space rocks, ranging in size from dust grains to boulders, may be visible in the night sky.
Don Polacco, an astronomer at the University of Warwick, said that while the two meteor showers don’t produce many, the Alpha Capricornids frequently produce very bright meteors.
To an astronomer, “one bright one is worth more than 20 dim ones,” he says.
How can I see the meteor shower?
The meteor shower is usually best visible between midnight and just before dawn.
Shooting stars are easier to see under dark skies away from city lights, and meteor showers appear brightest on cloudless nights when the moon is at its smallest.
Your eyes will also be more likely to become accustomed to seeing meteors if you don’t check your phone. “Cell phones impair night vision,” says NASA’s Bill Cook.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the Delta Aquarids meteor shower is best seen just after midnight, when the moon will overlap with a waning moon that is about 30% full.
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When is the next meteor shower?
The Meteor Society maintains an up-to-date list of upcoming major meteor showers, including peak viewing dates and moonlight conditions.
The next major meteor shower is the Perseids, which peaks in mid-August.
