You can catch meteor showers and a special lunar display early this week, and keep an eye out for the popular Perseids
The night sky has a lot in store this summer. And this week, you can catch a double meteor shower when the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids peak at the same time. The famous Perseids will peak in mid-August, though experts say you could actually get a better view of the highly anticipated shower this month.
Here’s everything you need to know about the celestial events lighting up the sky.
Southern Delta Aquariid and Alpha Capricornid meteor showers
On the night of July 29 into July 30, both the Southern Delta Aquariid and Alpha Capricornid meteor showers will peak. Both showers are better seen from the Southern Hemisphere, but United States-based viewers could still catch a glimpse.
The Southern Delta Aquariids move fast, reaching speeds of about 25 miles per second. Between 5 and 10 percent of these meteors leave glowing persistent trains, which stick around for a moment after the meteor burns through the atmosphere, writes EarthSky.
The shower’s shooting stars appear to originate from the southwestern part of the constellation Aquarius. And while the celestial body responsible for the Southern Delta Aquariids is still uncertain, astronomers suggest it’s the comet 96P/Machholz. Under prime conditions, the Southern Delta Aquariids could produce up to 15 or 20 shooting stars per hour.
Meanwhile, the Alpha Capricornids are a minor shower with more slow-moving meteors, but they still have a lot to offer. These meteors may have tails that linger slightly longer than those of the Aquariids, says Nick Moskovitz, an assistant astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, to Christina Larson at the Associated Press.
Although they don’t have frequent meteors, totaling about five per hour, “when they do show up, they are these sort of slow fireballs across the sky. So if you are looking for that one spectacular event to happen during a watch session, an Alpha Capricornid may be the one that gets you the most excited,” he adds to Nell Greenfieldboyce at NPR.
Alpha Capricornid meteors originate from the debris trail left by the comet 169P/NEAT. They appear to originate from the constellation Capricornus.
On its own, each of these showers produces a modest rate of meteors. But put together, these shooting stars “do add up,” as Thaddeus LaCoursiere, planetarium program coordinator at the Bell Museum in St. Paul, tells the AP.
Perseid meteor shower
The Perseids won’t peak for another few weeks, but this year, it might already be the best time to watch them. That’s because the moon is going to be too bright to get a good view of the meteor shower in mid-August. Right now, the moon is only about 25 percent full.
At their best, the Perseids could generate between 50 and 100 meteors per hour, but the moon might reduce that total by at least 75 percent in 2025, according to the American Meteor Society.
“The glare of the moon is really a killer,” Moskovitz explains to NPR, “and that is just going to make the Perseids not all that compelling this year.”
Tips for sky-watching
The best time to watch the meteor showers is typically after midnight but before dawn, in a place with little artificial light pollution. Allow your eyes to adjust to the dark by avoiding screens—including your cellphone. In this case, make sure your viewing spot offers a good vantage point of the southern sky, since this week’s showers favor the Southern Hemisphere.
Astronomers at the American Meteor Society recommend waiting until later in the night to watch the Alpha Capricornids, when the radiant—the point in the sky from which meteors appear to originate—has gained more altitude and the moon has set.
“This time of the summer is really peppered with meteor showers,” says Hunter Miller, an astronomy educator at Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, to NPR. “Really, my biggest recommendation is to get to dark skies.” He adds that the Perseids will still be worth catching despite the moon’s brightness, since they’re known to produce bright shooting stars.
The moon itself is also worth looking at tonight, on July 28: A bright waxing crescent moon will appear next to Mars about 45 minutes after sunset, reports Jamie Carter for Live Science. But even if you miss that pairing, no matter when you decide to look up this summer, there will probably be something surprising to the eye waiting for you.
