3 days ago
Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies
Our universe might be chock-full of cosmic wonder, but you can observe only a fraction of astronomical phenomena with your naked eye. Meteor showers, natural fireworks that streak brightly across the night sky, are one of them.
The latest observable meteor showers travel in tandem.
One, the Southern Delta Aquarids, has been active since July 18. The other, the Alpha Capricornids, got going on July 12. Both will reach their peak on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, or July 29-30. Each shower peters out around Aug. 12.
The Southern Delta Aquarids, best seen in the Southern Hemisphere in the constellation Aquarius, while the Alpha Capricornids are visible from both hemispheres in Capricorn.
With the moon around 27 percent full, viewing opportunities could be favorable. But the Southern Delta Aquarids, sometimes spelled Aquariids, tend to be faint, and the Alpha Capricornids rarely create more than five meteors an hour.
A third meteor shower, the Perseids is also active. It is arguably the best sky show of the summer but doesn't achieve peak activity until Aug. 12-13.
To get a hint at when to watch, you can use a meter that relies on data from the Global Meteor Network showing when real-time fireball activity levels increase in the coming days.
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