This week, stargazers can enjoy a celestial double-header: two meteor showers peaking around the same time. Get ready for high-speed meteors and dazzling fireballs lighting up the night sky.
The Southern Delta Aquariids will reach their peak on Monday night into early Tuesday, offering up to 25 meteors per hour depending on location, according to the American Meteor Society. The Alpha Capricornids, known for their bright fireballs, will peak on Tuesday night, contributing an additional five meteors per hour.
A fireball is a meteor brighter than Venus, caused by a larger object â more than one metre in diameter â entering the Earth's atmosphere, as explained by NASA.
These celestial displays are remnants of comets and asteroids orbiting the sun, which Earth encounters annually during its orbit. The Southern Delta Aquariids' debris trail is spread out, so the shower might produce similar meteor rates for a few days around its peak, says Robert Lunsford, the fireball report coordinator for the American Meteor Society.
For optimal viewing, Wednesday night is recommended, as the moon will be at its least illuminated, making it easier to spot the fainter meteors. The moon will be 34% full on Monday, diminishing to 16% full by Wednesday, according to NASA's Daily Moon Guide.
To enjoy the show, ditch the binoculars and telescopes and simply let your eyes adjust to the darkness for at least 10-15 minutes, advises Andrew Rivkin, a planetary astronomer and research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
The best time to catch the meteors is around 4 a.m. local time, when the radiant, the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate, will be at its highest point in the sky. Although the showers are visible globally, the Northern Hemisphere might see fewer meteors per hour (up to 10) as the radiant will be lower in the sky.
Look for Constellation Aquarius, the radiant for the Southern Delta Aquariids, and Capricornus, the radiant for the Alpha Capricornids. They will be side-by-side in the southwestern sky, Lunsford explains.
The Alpha Capricornids, although less frequent than the Southern Delta Aquariids (around five per hour), are slower moving and more likely to last for at least a second. While the Southern Delta Aquariids travel at 40 kilometres per second, according to NASA, lasting only half a second, the Alpha Capricornids are known to produce bright fireballs that linger longer.
The Perseid meteor shower, known for its bright and fast meteors, is already active since mid-July and will peak on the evening of August 11. You might catch a few Perseids alongside the other showers.
Earlier this month, a fireball streaked across the sky in broad daylight over parts of the US Northeast, showcasing the captivating spectacle of meteors.
"It's a situation where the universe is coming to us," Rivkin says, highlighting the unique nature of meteors. "We see the sun and moon constantly, but meteors are fleeting. You might be the only person to witness a particular meteor, making them truly special."
Remaining meteor showers in 2024:
Perseids: August 11-12
Draconids: October 7-8
Orionids: October 20-21
Southern Taurids: November 4-5
Northern Taurids: November 11-12
Leonids: November 17-18
Geminids: December 13-14
Ursids: December 21-22
Remaining full moons in 2024:
August 19: Sturgeon moon
September 17: Harvest moon
October 17: Hunterâs moon
November 15: Beaver moon
December 15: Cold moon
Enjoy the celestial show!