Between the high clouds and the fog, last weekend ended up being a bust for any stargazing, let alone meteor shower watching but, at the time this was written, clear skies are predicted for this weekend so, as it turns out this will be the best weekend to try to catch one of the many meteor showers taking place.
You might recall from last week that were in the middle of seven meteor showers! Their rates of meteors per hour range from just a few per hour to a whooping 150 meteors per hours.
Of course, this is under ideal conditions, which mainly is a moonless night. So right now, conditions aren’t ideal since the first quarter was Friday, but they’ll definitely be better Saturday than next weekend since the moon will practically be full next weekend. (The moon is full Thursday.)
The Alpha Capricornid meteor shower started July 3 and goes until Aug. 15. This shower peaked July 30 and its radiant or where the “shooting stars” come from, is the constellation Capricornus. It’s rated at just five meteors per hour.
The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower started July 12 and goes until Aug. 23. It also peaked July 30. The shower's radiant point is in the constellation Aquarius and is rated at 25 meteor per hour.
The Piscis Austrinid meteor shower started July 15 and will go until Aug. 10. It peaked July 29. Its name comes from the constellation it comes from — Piscis Austrinus. This is another small one rated at about five meteors per hour.
The Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaked July 24 and July 25 but started July 18 and goes until Aug. 20. The radiant point is in the Aquarius constellation, close to the star Delta Aquarii, which is where this meteor shower’s name came from. It’s rated at 20 meteors per hour.
The Perseid meteor shower started July 17 and goes until Aug. 24. It peaks Aug. 13. Its radiant point is the constellation of Perseus. This is the second biggest meteor shower of the year with a rating of around 150 meteors per hour. Although the moon will actually be getting smaller, it will still overtake the sky. So again, Saturday night or Sunday morning is the best time to look for shooting stars.
Lastly, the Aurigid meteor shower started July 28 and goes until Sept. 5. It will peak Sept. 1.The shower’s radiant point is in the constellation Auriga. This is another small one rated at just six meteors per hour.
The best time to view all of these meteor showers is predawn. The moon will set 1:16 a.m. Sunday so any time after that time should be good.
Look Up appears in the weekend edition. If you have any astronomical questions or facts you’d like to share email news@smdailyjournal.com with the subject line “Look Up.”
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