Latest news with #shootingstar
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
2 summer meteor showers peak soon. When is the best time to see Perseid in Mississippi?
If you haven't caught a glimpse of a shooting star yet in July, it's not too late. In fact, the best nights to see the most are happening soon. There are three meteor showers visible over Mississippi now, and the showy fireballs and falling stars will continue until late August. Two of the celestial shows will peak about the same time in late July, but you'll still have weeks to stargaze and catch a peek. The Perseid is the most famous. It runs from about July 17 to Aug. 23, according to the American Meteor Society. The alpha Capricornids are in progress, according to the American Meteor Society, and will be active through about Aug. 12. The Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower will be visible from July 18 through about Aug. 12 as well. Here's what to know about the best times to see shooting stars and places in Mississippi where the night sky will be darkest. When is the best time of night to see Perseid, more meteors in July and early August? All three meteor showers can be visible from evening through dawn, meaning you don't have to stay up super late for this stargazing. You just might not get the best views earlier in the evening. AMS says the best time to see any meteor shower is between midnight and dawn. According to NASA, the Perseids can be seen as early as 10 p.m. It's still summer in Mississippi, so plan ahead if you're spending a lot of time outdoors to watch the sky. Plan for heat and mosquitoes. Nights are cooler but still humid, which can make it hard for sweat to evaporate. Sweating more leads to dehydration faster, so be sure to bring plenty of water and maybe some bug repellent. What is each meteor shower known for? The Perseids are one of the most popular annual astronomical events. They're active for several weeks and can treat viewers to about 50-75 meteors per hour, according to AMS. The moon will likely be bright during the peak evenings in 2025, so only the brightest meteors will be seen. It could reduce visibility by as much as 75%. According to EarthSky, the maximum hourly rate can be about 15-20 visible meteors in a dark sky for the Delta Aquariid. These can be faint and hard to see. The alpha Capricornids have fewer meteors, but they're showier. This shower is known for fireballs, but you might only see about five per hour, according to the Meteor Society. What are the peak nights to see shooting stars in July and August? The American Meteor Society estimates the peak periods will be around July 29-30 for the Delta Aquarids and alpha Capricornids. The Perseids will peak around Aug. 12-13. The new moon was on July 24, making the dark nights before and after the clearest for sky watchers. But other nights, other than around the full moon, will still offer visibility, weather permitting. When is the August full moon? The worst nights for viewing meteor showers will be in the days surrounding the full moon. The full moon in August, called the "Sturgeon Moon," will be on Aug. 9, 2025. Peak illumination will be 2:55 a.m. CT, according to Farmer's Almanac. Moonrise in Jackson will be a 7:48 p.m. CT, on Aug. 8, according to That'll be shortly after sunset around 7:51 p.m. Where are the best dark sky places in Mississippi? Find a great spot to see the night sky Go Astronomy lists some of the best places for seeing the night sky without light pollution in Mississippi. Places that have a Bortle dark-sky scale score are provided. The nine-tier system ranks a three as a rural night sky and a one as an excellent dark sky. Bienville National Forest: Bortle score - 3. Clark Creek Natural Area: Bortle score - 3. De Soto National Forest. Delta National Forest. French Camp. Holly Springs National Forest. Holmes County State Park: Bortle score - 3. Homochitto National Forest: Bortle score - 3. Leroy Percy State Park: Bortle score - 3. Tishomingo State Park: Bortle score - 3. Tombigbee National Forest. The Natchez Trace Parkway has designated stargazing spots from sunrise until 10 p.m.: Big Tree Overlook, milepost 439.4. Little Mountain Exhibit Shelter, milepost 193.1. Reservoir Overlook, milepost 105.6. Are a meteor and a comet the same thing? No. They're different, but they can be related. A comet is an icy ball of rock, frozen gas and dust that orbits the sun. According to NASA, they can be "the size of a small town." As they get near to the sun, comets develop a head that's bigger than some planets made of dust and gas. The resulting tail can be millions of miles long. Meteors, sometimes called shooting stars, are little pieces of debris that we see burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA. "Every Perseid meteor is a tiny piece of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which swings by the Sun every 135 years," NASA wrote. Before it enters the atmosphere and is still in space, the rock is called a meteoroid. A meteorite is the part of the meteor that survives the trip and hits the ground. Space Connect reporter Eric Lagatta contributed to this report. Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Summer meteor showers peak soon: When, where to see Perseid, more in MS Solve the daily Crossword
CNET
18-07-2025
- Science
- CNET
Two Meteor Showers Are Peaking on the Same Night in July. How to Catch a Glimpse
Meteor showers happen all year. They happen so often that they overlap for significant percentages of the year. There are two times when three meteor showers will be active in October, for example. But a rarer feat? Having two meteor showers that peak at the same time. It'll happen later this month, on July 29. The show will come courtesy of the Alpha Capricornids and Southern delta Aquariids meteor showers. The former began on Saturday and runs through Aug. 12, with a peak of July 29. Southern delta Aquariids will start on July 28, peaks early on July 29, and then runs until Aug. 12 as well. That means for one evening, the two meteor showers are peaking at the same time, giving stargazers a much better chance at catching a shooting star. Of the two, the Southern delta Aquarids is typically the larger meteor shower, tossing upwards of 25 meteors per hour during its zenith. Alpha Capricornids is a lesser meteor shower, with about five per hour on average. Combined, they'll output an estimated 30 per hour. Tips to see two meteor showers at once Since the meteors are coming from two different points in the sky, you would think spotting meteors from both would be difficult, but that is far from the truth. Alpha Capricornids, which hails from the 169P/NEAT comet, originates from the Capricornus constellation. It will rise from the eastern skies across the continental US around sunset and streak across the southern sky, setting in the western sky at sunrise. For the Southern delta Aquariids, its radiant — the point from which its meteors seem to originate — is the Aquarius constellation. Aquarius is right next to Capricornus. That means it also rises out of the eastern horizon, streaks across the southern sky, and sets in the western horizon around dawn. If you have trouble finding either of them, Stellarium's free sky map will help you hunt them down. Set the time, date and location, and you're off to the races. Once you find one, the other one is essentially right there next to it. Tips on spotting meteor showers As per the norm, the tips here are the same as they are for the aurora borealis and planet parades. Light pollution and weather are your two biggest enemies. Since you can only do anything about one of those, let's focus on light pollution. You'll want to drive as far away from the city and suburbs as possible, as the light pollution will make it difficult to see the dimmer meteors. The further away you are, the better, as even suburban light pollution can obfuscate most meteors. Once out there, you just have to sit and wait. Since the constellations will move across the south as you watch, you may have to rotate your chair if you're out there for a while. Otherwise, a pair of binoculars may help. Telescopes aren't recommended, as they obscure your field of view and may actively obstruct your ability to see meteors.
CNET
11-07-2025
- Science
- CNET
Look Up at Night and You May See Two Meteor Showers in July
Meteor showers happen periodically all year. In fact, they happen so often that they overlap for significant percentages of the year. There are two times when three meteor showers will be active in October, for example. But a rarer feat is having two meteor showers that have their activity peak at the same time. The next time that's happening is on July 29. The show will come courtesy of the Alpha Capricornids and Southern delta Aquariids meteor showers. The former begins on July 12 and runs through Aug. 12, with a peak of July 29. Southern delta Aquariids will start on July 28, peaks early on July 29, and then runs until Aug. 12 as well. That means for one evening, the two meteor showers are peaking at the same time, giving stargazers a much better chance at catching a shooting star. Of the two, the Southern delta Aquarids is typically the larger meteor shower, tossing upwards of 25 meteors per hour during its zenith. Alpha Capricornids is a lesser meteor shower, with about five per hour on average. Combined, they'll output an estimated 30 per hour. How to see the meteor showers Since the meteors are coming from two different points in the sky, you would think spotting meteors from both would be difficult, but that is far from the truth. Alpha Capricornids, which hails from the 169P/NEAT comet, originates from the Capricornus constellation. It will rise from the eastern skies across the continental US around sunset and streak across the southern sky, setting in the western sky at sunrise. For the Southern delta Aquariids, its radiant — the point from which its meteors seem to originate — is the Aquarius constellation. Aquarius is right next to Capricornus. That means it also rises out of the eastern horizon, streaks across the southern sky, and sets in the western horizon around dawn. If you have trouble finding either of them, Stellarium's free sky map will help you hunt them down. Set the time, date and location, and you're off to the races. Once you find one, the other one is essentially right there next to it. Tips on spotting shooting stars As per the norm, the tips here are the same as they are for the aurora borealis and planet parades. Light pollution and weather are your two biggest enemies. Since you can only do anything about one of those, let's focus on light pollution. You'll want to drive as far away from the city and suburbs as possible, as the light pollution will make it difficult to see the dimmer meteors. The further away you are, the better, as even suburban light pollution can obfuscate most meteors. Once out there, you just have to sit and wait. Since the constellations will move across the south as you watch, you may have to rotate your chair if you're out there for a while. Otherwise, a pair of binoculars may help. Telescopes aren't recommended, as it obscures your field of view and may actively obstruct your ability to see meteors.
