When it comes to meteor showers, the spectacular Perseids tend to get most of the attention. The peak of this meteor shower is just a few weeks away, but Monday night we’re giving you a sneak peek at what’s to come.
According to the American Meteor Society, two meteor showers visible from the Northern Hemisphere will peak between Monday and Wednesday.
The Southern Delta Aquarids will peak Monday night or early Tuesday morning. This shower produces brighter shooting stars the further south you are. Typically, these meteors are faint and do not exhibit streaks (a trail that can follow a large, bright meteor trail) or fireballs.
If the moon is above the horizon, according to the American Meteor Society, look toward the southwestern sky.
According to NASA, it’s easiest to observe these meteors by lying on your back and looking at a 45-degree angle to the constellation Aquarius. You should let your eyes adjust to the darkness for about 30 minutes in an area without street or city lights, NASA advises.
“Be patient, the show will last until dawn,” the agency says, “so you’ll have plenty of time to get a glimpse of it.”
Meteors are fragments of asteroids and comet dust that collide with Earth’s atmosphere as they travel around the Sun, NASA explains. The meteors burn up as they fall toward Earth, creating the phenomenon of “shooting stars.”
The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower, which peaks Wednesday, is a weaker shower that is expected to produce fewer than five meteors per hour — but it’s more likely to produce bright fireballs and won’t require you to look in a specific direction like the Aquariids — according to the American Meteor Society.
After the Perseids peak in August, the next opportunity to observe meteors, in mid-October, will be hampered by a nearly full moon.
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