2 meteor showers will light up the night sky this weekend
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As July comes to an end, skywatchers can expect two meteor showers to take place this weekend, one of which will peak Friday night.
The Delta Aquariids meteor shower is expected to peak Friday night into Saturday morning, while the second, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower, will peak Saturday and Sunday, according to the American Meteor Society.
The Delta Aquariids are best seen from the southern tropics, according to AMS. When viewing the meteor from north of the equator, the radiant – or the apparent origin point of the meteor path – is located lower in the southern sky.
The second meteor shower, Alpha Capricornids, is not very strong, AMS said. However, it can be seen equally well on either side of the equator. During its peak, the moon will be 5% full.
Meteor showers are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. According to AMS, the most popular meteor shower, the Perseids, is set to peak on Aug. 11-12.
In case you miss the Delta Aquariids shower, don’t worry, there’s several more to come. Here’s a full list of meteor showers expected in 2022:
Aug. 12: Perseids
Oct. 21: Orionids
Nov. 5: Southern Taurids
Nov. 12: Northern Taurids
Nov. 17: Leonids
Dec. 14: Geminids
Dec. 22: Ursids
