TOPEKA (KSNT) – Sky watchers don’t have to wait much longer for an opportunity to catch not one, but two meteor showers that reach their peak on the same night.
27 News got in touch with Brenda Culbertson, solar system ambassador with the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to learn about a rare upcoming opportunity to catch some flashes of light in the night sky. Two meteor showers, the Alpha Capricornids and Delta Aquariids, are expected to reach their peak on the same evening at the end of July.
The Alpha Capricornids are visible from July 12 to Aug. 12 while the Delta Aquariids can be seen from July 18 to Aug. 12, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). Culbertson said the Alpha Capricornids come out of the constellation Capricornus and typically peak the night of July 30 while the Delta Aquariids also reach their height on the same night.
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The AMS reports the Alpha Capricornids are not very strong with only about five meteors seen per hou. The Delta Aquariids are different and considered a stronger meteor shower.
“The delta Aquariids is a more prolific meteor shower with the radiant in the constellation Aquarius,” Culbertson said. “Twenty meteors per hour during the peak time are expected.”
Culbertson recommends people get outside around midnight to watch for meteors on July 30. She said this will give time for the moon to set.
“No special equipment is needed, just the eyes,” Culbertson said. “The meteors will appear to come from a southerly direction, but they will pass across the sky, leaving a trail in any direction. The darker the observer’s location, the more meteors they may see.”
Culbertson said people should also be able to spot meteors in the sky in the nights leading up to July 30. She recommends finding somewhere dark and away from bright lights, such as those in cities, and look up.
“The small piece of debris in space is called a meteoroid,” Culbertson said. “If that same piece of debris comes through the atmosphere, streaking across the sky, it’s called a meteor. If that same piece of debris makes it to the ground, it’s called a meteorite. Same hunk of stuff, but called different things, depending on where it is.”
You can learn more about the two meteor showers by heading to the AMS website by clicking here. You can also check out the NASA website for tips on how to photograph a meteor shower or find other tips on watching the sky.
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