Photo: Andrew Murrell (Shutterstock)
If you’re one of the many people who got into stargazing and backyard astronomy during the pandemic, you’ve probably noticed that not much has happened in the night sky lately. All the usual suspects – the stars, the planets, the moon – are content with just hanging around in space, and it’s been a while since we’ve had a good old-fashioned meteor shower.
That’s not to say that no meteors shot through the summer sky: as our own Sam Blum has previously covered, the Perseid meteor shower began earlier this month but will not peak until August 11-13. But on the night of July 28th – that is tomorrow – two different meteor showers, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capracornids, will peak at the same time. Here’s how, where, and when to look it up and see the show.
This is how you see the meteor showers of the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capracornids
The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capracornids each have their own strengths, so they say American Meteor Society (AMMS). On the one hand, the Mermen of the Southern Delta produce more meteors during their shower, but they are usually weak and lack both sustained draws and fireballs. The Alpha Capracornids, on the other hand, rarely produce more than five meteors per hour, but those that do appear tend to be bright balls of fire.
On the night of July 28th, the moon is 74% full, which is not ideal for observing meteor showers, but it does not make it impossible either. Although the southern delta Aquarius is best seen in the southern tropics, they can be seen anywhere in the northern hemisphere where “the radiant is lower in the southern sky,” according to the AMS, adding that the Alpha Capracornids typically seen by those on both sides of the equator equally well.
If you go outside, you should definitely wait for the time to come completely dark (The time that happens depends on your location). As with most celestial events, the darker the sky, the better your chances of seeing something. Both showers will last through the night and be loud Griffith Observatory, will peak just before sunrise.
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No fancy equipment is required to see these meteor showers. “You can experience the magic of the night without equipment” Jackie Faherty, a Hubble Fellow at the Earth and Planets Laboratory at the Carnegie Institute for Science, said prevention, and adds that it’s important to leave 15-20 minutes early to give your eyes time to adjust to the dark.
