While 2020’s summer was packed with exciting rocket launches and celestial events, it seems as though the coming week has something in store for all stargazers out there. And for all those who have never witnessed a beautiful meteor shower ever in their lives, it’s time you take a break from Netflix, and step outside.
Comet Neowise was spotted making its way through on the 28th of July, and according to NASA, it’ll take about 6,800 years to return our planet’s skies. However, we’ve two more chances coming right up that’ll let us spot a shooting star or two! The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower and the Delta Aquarids meteor showers.
According to NASA, the Delta Aquarids appear each year from July to August, and it is this year it peaked up on July 27th; and according to the American Meteor Society, the Alpha Capricornids will be active from July 3rd to August 15th, with a maximum centered on July 30th. According to SKy and Telescope, the name Delta Aquarids comes from Delta Aquarii – a star in the Aquarius constellation. Although the meteors will travel across the sky, they’ll away to streak away from the ‘radiant’, which is a point in central Aquarius. Astronomers believe that this meteor shower comes from Comet 96P/Machholz, however, they’re not sure. With approximately 20 meteors an hour, NASA believes this shower would be visible majorly from the Southern Hemisphere. Alpha Capricornids, on the other hand, are a result of dust from the Comet 169P/NEAT. Although the American Meteor Society believes that shower brings about three meteors an hour, Alpha Capricornids is also known to bring along fireballs too! This shower can be equally viewable from either side of the equator, and it’ll appear as though the meteors are radiating from the border of the Aquila and Sagittarius constellations.
Mind you these two showers are merely the curtain raisers of the most important and beautiful summermeteor shower of the year: the Perseids, and they will be peaking in the second week of August! With 50+ meteors an hour shower, the Perseids promises to give you shooting stars more than the number of your wishes! Bring out the stargazer in you, drop Netflix for a while, and take a seat while the universe brings its magic to you!
