Get ready for a double meteor shower. The Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks in late July. And this year, it will coincide with a second, smaller meteor shower, the Alpha Capricornids.
The Delta Aquarids occur each year in late summer in North America. This year’s peak activity will occur early Tuesday morning, with 15 to 20 meteors expected per hour in the Northern Hemisphere under dark skies.
The viewing is expected to be even better in the Southern Hemisphere. The shower lasts until August 21, according to the American Meteor Society.
Around the same time, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower is expected to produce about five meteors per hour and will last until August 15.
Here’s what you need to know about Delta Aquariids and other meteor showers.
What is a meteor shower?
Several meteor showers occur every year and you don’t need any special equipment to see them.
Most meteor showers originate from comet debris. The Delta Aquariids are thought to have originated from comet 96P/Machholz. The Alpha Capricornids originated from comet 169P/NEAT.
When rocks from space enter Earth’s atmosphere, air resistance makes them very hot. This causes the air around them to glow and briefly leaves a fiery tail behind them — the end of a “shooting star.”
Bright air pockets around fast-moving space rocks, ranging in size from dust particles to boulders, can be visible in the night sky.
Neither meteor shower is very large, but the Alpha Capricornids often produce very bright meteors, notes Don Pollacco, an astronomer at the University of Warwick.
For sky watchers, “one bright object is worth 20 faint objects,” he explains.
How to observe a meteor shower?
Meteor showers are usually most visible between midnight and before dawn.
Shooting stars are easiest to see under dark skies, away from city lights. Meteor showers also appear brightest on cloudless nights, when the moon is waning the most.
And your eyes will be better adapted to seeing meteors if you don’t check your phone. “It ruins your night vision,” insists NASA’s Bill Cooke.
The Southern Hemisphere will offer the best view of the Delta Aquarids. Coinciding with a waning moon that is about 30% full, this means the clearest viewing will occur after midnight.
When will the next meteor shower occur?
The Meteoritical Society maintains an up-to-date list of upcoming major meteor showers, including peak viewing days and lunar lighting conditions.
The next major meteor shower will be the Perseids, peaking in mid-August.
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