Whereas meteor showers occur all 12 months, a rarer prevalence is having two meteor showers that peak on the similar time. It’s going to occur this week, on Tuesday.
The taking pictures star present comes courtesy of the Alpha Capricornids and Southern delta Aquariids meteor showers. The previous is already taking place and runs till Aug. 12, with a peak on Tuesday. Southern delta Aquariids will begin on Monday, peaks early on Tuesday and runs till Aug. 12 as effectively. Which means for one night, the 2 meteor showers are peaking on the similar time, giving stargazers a a lot better probability at catching a taking pictures star.
Of the 2, the Southern delta Aquarids is often the bigger meteor bathe, tossing upward of 25 meteors per hour throughout its zenith. Alpha Capricornids is a lesser meteor bathe, with about 5 per hour on common. Mixed, they’re going to output an estimated 30 per hour.
See 2 meteor showers directly
For the reason that meteors are coming from two completely different factors within the sky, you’d suppose recognizing meteors from each can be troublesome, however that’s removed from the reality.
Alpha Capricornids, which hails from the 169P/NEAT comet, originates from the Capricornus constellation. It’ll rise from the japanese skies throughout the continental US round sundown and streak throughout the southern sky, setting within the western sky at dawn.
For the Southern delta Aquariids, its radiant — the purpose from which its meteors appear to originate — is the Aquarius constellation. Aquarius is true subsequent to Capricornus. Which means it additionally rises out of the japanese horizon, streaks throughout the southern sky, and units within the western horizon round daybreak.
In case you have hassle discovering both of them, Stellarium’s free sky map will aid you hunt them down. Set the time, date and site, and also you’re off to the races. As soon as you discover one, the opposite one is basically proper there subsequent to it.
Tips about watching meteor showers
As per the norm, the ideas listed here are the identical as they’re for the aurora borealis and planet parades. Mild air pollution and climate are your two largest enemies. Since you possibly can solely do something about a kind of, let’s give attention to gentle air pollution. You will need to drive as distant from town and suburbs as potential, as the sunshine air pollution will make it troublesome to see the dimmer meteors. The farther away you might be, the higher, as even suburban gentle air pollution can obfuscate most meteors.
As soon as on the market, you simply have to sit down and wait. For the reason that constellations will transfer throughout the south as you watch, you will have to rotate your chair should you’re on the market for some time. In any other case, a pair of binoculars might assist. Telescopes aren’t beneficial, as they obscure your subject of view and should actively impede your capability to see meteors.