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Get ready for a double meteor shower.
The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks in late July. And this year, it will coincide with a second, smaller meteor shower, the Alpha Capricornids.
Delta Aquariids are found every year in the late summer of North America. This year’s top activity will happen on Tuesday morning, with an expected 15 to 20 visible meteors per hour in the northern hemisphere, under a dark sky. The display should be even better in the southern hemisphere. The rain lasts until August 21, according to the American Meteor Society.
At the same time, the Alpha Capricornid meteor shower should produce about five meteors per hour and last until August 15.
Here’s what you need to know about the Delta Aquariids and other meteor showers.
What is a meteor shower?
There are multiple meteor showers every year and you don’t need special equipment to see them.
Most meteor showers originate from comet debris. The source of the Delta Aquariids is thought to be from comet 96P/Machholz. The Alpha Capricornids originated from comet 169P/NEAT.
When rocks from space enter the Earth’s atmosphere, air resistance makes them very hot. This causes the air around them to glow and briefly leave a fiery tail behind them – the end of a “shooting star”.
Pockets of glowing air around fast-moving space rocks, ranging from the size of a dust particle to a rock, can be seen in the night sky.
These two meteor showers are not a high volume, but the Alpha Capricornids often produce very bright meteors, said University of Warwick astronomer Don Pollacco.
For skygazers, “one bright is worth 20 dimes,” he said.
How to see a meteor shower
Meteor showers are usually most visible between midnight and dawn.
It’s easier to see shooting stars under a dark sky, away from city lights. Meteor showers look even brighter on cloudless nights when the moon gets smaller.
And your eyes will be better suited to seeing meteors if you’re not checking your phone. “It ruins your night vision,” said NASA’s Bill Cooke.
The southern hemisphere will have the best view of Delta Aquariids. Coinciding with a waning moon around 30% full, it means the clearest viewing will be after midnight.
When is the next meteor shower?
The meteor society maintains an up-to-date list of the next big meteor showers, including peak viewing days and moon conditions.
The next major meteor shower will be the Perseids, which peak in mid-August.
