Two meteor showers are all set to light up the night sky on July 30 and July 31 and one can watch up to 25 meteors per hour depending on their location, as per the American Meteor Society.
The Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquariids will peak simultaneously.
“It’s just an amazing coincidence,” said Nicholas Moskovitz, a planetary astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, according to CNN.
Having two meteor showers peak within 24 hours is “a little bit unusual,” Moskovitz told Live Science. “But the idea of multiple showers being visible in a single night? Certainly not too uncommon.”
When and where to watch
Meteor showers occur when Earth’s orbit intersects a comet’s path, causing the rocky debris left behind by the comet to burn up as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. During this double meteor shower, Earth will cross the orbits of comet 96P/Machholz, causing the Southern Delta Aquariids to peak from July 29 to July 30, and comet 169P/NEAT, which creates the Alpha Capricornids peaking from July 30 to July 31.
Wednesday night is the best time to view both showers, according to Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society. As the moon wanes, it loses about 8% illumination each night, which can hinder the visibility of fainter meteors. On Monday, the moon will be about 34% full, and on Wednesday it will be 16% full, according to Nasa‘s Daily Moon Guide.
Best viewing conditions
The double meteor shower will be best viewed in the Southern Hemisphere, where the radiant, or the apparent point from which the shower originates, will be almost overhead. However, people in the Northern Hemisphere can also see the meteor shower if they have a clear view of the southern horizon. Both meteor showers will continue until mid-August.
“Almost all meteor showers peak in the early morning hours between 2 and 4 am,” Moskovitz said. “So if you want to catch either one of these, your best chances of seeing meteors are to get to a dark site and do so after midnight.”
Viewing tips
Both showers are best viewed with the naked eye. For other skywatching events this year, a new pair of binoculars or a good backyard telescope might be useful.
The science behind meteor showers
Meteor showers occur at regular intervals due to their predictable orbits around the sun. The intensity of these showers can vary annually, influenced by when comets release debris and the duration the debris has been in space. Predicting meteor showers is crucial for the safety of spacecraft and humans traveling in space, said Moskovitz, who leads the Lowell Observatory Cameras for All-Sky Meteor Surveillance (LO-CAMS), a network of cameras monitoring meteors.
Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids
At its peak, the Southern Delta Aquariids will display around 20 to 25 meteors per hour, compared to “background” meteor showers that typically show around five meteors per hour. The Southern Delta Aquariids will appear “pretty faint,” Moskovitz said. “You really need to get to a dark site, away from lights and traffic, stay off your cell phones, let your eyes acclimate to the dark, and you may have a chance of seeing some of those faint objects.”
In contrast, the Alpha Capricornids are less frequent but often produce “bright fireballs with bigger meteor chunks coming in, burning up, and getting brighter, making for a more spectacular show,” Moskovitz explained. These bright meteors are composed of marble-sized particles, while the fainter meteors are usually grain-sized.
The Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquariids will peak simultaneously.
“It’s just an amazing coincidence,” said Nicholas Moskovitz, a planetary astronomer at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, according to CNN.
Having two meteor showers peak within 24 hours is “a little bit unusual,” Moskovitz told Live Science. “But the idea of multiple showers being visible in a single night? Certainly not too uncommon.”
When and where to watch
Meteor showers occur when Earth’s orbit intersects a comet’s path, causing the rocky debris left behind by the comet to burn up as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. During this double meteor shower, Earth will cross the orbits of comet 96P/Machholz, causing the Southern Delta Aquariids to peak from July 29 to July 30, and comet 169P/NEAT, which creates the Alpha Capricornids peaking from July 30 to July 31.
Wednesday night is the best time to view both showers, according to Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society. As the moon wanes, it loses about 8% illumination each night, which can hinder the visibility of fainter meteors. On Monday, the moon will be about 34% full, and on Wednesday it will be 16% full, according to Nasa‘s Daily Moon Guide.
Best viewing conditions
The double meteor shower will be best viewed in the Southern Hemisphere, where the radiant, or the apparent point from which the shower originates, will be almost overhead. However, people in the Northern Hemisphere can also see the meteor shower if they have a clear view of the southern horizon. Both meteor showers will continue until mid-August.
“Almost all meteor showers peak in the early morning hours between 2 and 4 am,” Moskovitz said. “So if you want to catch either one of these, your best chances of seeing meteors are to get to a dark site and do so after midnight.”
Viewing tips
Both showers are best viewed with the naked eye. For other skywatching events this year, a new pair of binoculars or a good backyard telescope might be useful.
The science behind meteor showers
Meteor showers occur at regular intervals due to their predictable orbits around the sun. The intensity of these showers can vary annually, influenced by when comets release debris and the duration the debris has been in space. Predicting meteor showers is crucial for the safety of spacecraft and humans traveling in space, said Moskovitz, who leads the Lowell Observatory Cameras for All-Sky Meteor Surveillance (LO-CAMS), a network of cameras monitoring meteors.
Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids
At its peak, the Southern Delta Aquariids will display around 20 to 25 meteors per hour, compared to “background” meteor showers that typically show around five meteors per hour. The Southern Delta Aquariids will appear “pretty faint,” Moskovitz said. “You really need to get to a dark site, away from lights and traffic, stay off your cell phones, let your eyes acclimate to the dark, and you may have a chance of seeing some of those faint objects.”
In contrast, the Alpha Capricornids are less frequent but often produce “bright fireballs with bigger meteor chunks coming in, burning up, and getting brighter, making for a more spectacular show,” Moskovitz explained. These bright meteors are composed of marble-sized particles, while the fainter meteors are usually grain-sized.