Rare double meteor shower peaks in first 3 days of the week

(NLDO) - The Earth has just "cut off the tails" of two comets at the same time, leading to two overlapping meteor showers, reaching their peaks in the next few days.

According to Live Science, astronomy enthusiasts are about to witness a "double" meteor shower when both the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids peak next week.

A meteor shower - Photo: NASA

The Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower, which seems to radiate from the constellation Aquarius, has been showing off since mid-July and only ends in mid-August.

However, it will be at its peak on July 29 or 30 this year, depending on your country's time zone.

Meanwhile, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower has been falling gently since early July and continues until August 15, but will peak on July 30 or 31.

This meteor shower radiates from a point quite close to the Southern Delta Aquariids' peak, located near the constellation Capricorn.

The locations of the two meteor showers are marked in green - Photo: THE WEATHER NETWORK

The Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids are produced when Earth passes through the dusty tails of comets 96P/Machholz and 169P/NEAT, respectively.

Astronomer Nicholas Moskovitz from Lowell Observatory in Arizona, USA, told Live Science that this double event was an amazing coincidence when the orbits of the objects happened to cross each other at the right place, at the right time.

Each meteor shower will only light up Earth's skies with a few dozen shooting stars per hour during its peak night, but because they appear together, we will still see a spectacular show.

If you miss the most spectacular nights, observing a couple of days before or after should still be enough to enjoy quite a few shooting stars.

The best viewing locations for both meteor showers are in the Southern Hemisphere. However, some Northern Hemisphere countries can still see them easily if they have a good view of the southern horizon.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/mua-sao-bang-kep-hiem-gap-dat-dinh-3-ngay-dau-tuan-196240726121252294.htm