2024-07-28 20:31:00
July has been a month filled with cosmic activity and it still has a gift for the end of the month: a double meteor shower.
This is the ‘Southern Delta Aquariids’ meteor shower, which will reach its peak activity at the end of July. This year, it will coincide with a second, smaller meteor shower, the ‘Alpha Capricornids.’
The ‘Delta Aquariids’ occur every year at the end of summer in North America. The peak activity this year will take place on Tuesday, July 30, early in the morning, with a forecast of 15 to 20 meteors visible per hour in the northern hemisphere, under dark skies.
Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere, viewing will be even better. According to the American Meteor Society, the shower will last until August 21.
Around the same dates, the ‘Alpha Capricornids’ meteor shower will produce about five meteors per hour and will last until August 15.
This is what you need to know about the ‘Delta Aquariids’ and other meteor showers.
What is a meteor shower?
Each year, multiple meteor showers occur, and no special equipment is needed to see them.
Most meteor showers come from the remnants of comets. It is believed that the ‘Delta Aquariids’ originate from comet 96P/Machholz, while the ‘Alpha Capricornids’ come from comet 169P/NEAT.
When space rocks enter the Earth’s atmosphere, air resistance heats them up significantly. This causes the air around them to glow and briefly leaves a fiery tail behind them: what we commonly call a “shooting star.”
Glowing air pockets surrounding fast-moving space rocks, which can be as small as a dust particle or as large as more than 10 inches, can be visible in the night sky.
These two meteor showers are not of high volume, but the ‘Alpha Capricornids’ tend to produce very bright meteors, noted astronomer Don Pollacco from the University of Warwick.
For sky watchers, “one (bright star) is worth 20 (dim stars),” he stated.
How to watch the meteor showers at the end of July?
Meteor showers are usually more visible between midnight and before dawn.
It’s easier to see shooting stars under dark skies, away from city lights. Meteor showers are also brighter on clear nights, when the Moon is more waning.
And your eyes will adapt better to seeing meteors if you’re not looking at your phone. “It ruins your night vision,” says Bill Cooke from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The southern hemisphere will have the best view of the ‘Delta Aquariids’. Coinciding with a waning Moon about 30% full, the clearest viewing will occur after midnight.
When will the next meteor shower be?
The Meteor Society maintains an updated list of upcoming major meteor showers, including peak observation days and lunar light conditions.
The next major meteor shower will be the ‘Perseids,’ which will reach its peak in mid-August.
When and where to see the Geminid meteor shower?