Alan Chen

Two meteor showers are visible in the late July skies, and they happen to peak at the same evening in a rare case of perfect timing.

Especially visible in the Southern Hemisphere, but also visible farther south in the Northern Hemisphere, the α-Capricornids and the Southern δ-Aquariids will light up the night of July 30th-31st with a combined total of 30 shooting stars per hour.

Better still, the event will take place during the waxing crescent Moon, so moonlight won’t obscure the view. The Moon will set in the evening, and the night sky will be perfectly dark.

In order to find them, look for the constellations they take their names from. Valerie from Space Tourism Guide generally recommends finding Capricorn first, as it’s easier to find in the south-southeastern sky. Once you find Capricorn, the much more active Southern δ-Aquariids, radiating from the constellation Aquarius, can be spotted slightly more eastward.

Aquarius is difficult to find, but because there are far more shooting stars appearing to originate there, it will be easier to find that way. With the two radiating points occurring nearby, you likely won’t know which meteors belong to which shower.

Starwalk describes the α-Capricornids as slower and noticeably bright, so perhaps that can be a clue.

One thing to keep in mind when trying to see this rare double shower is that the further north one lives on the Earth, the closer the meteors will be to the horizon. For those in the northern United States, a clear horizon line will be necessary, unobscured by trees, hills, or cities.

The further south one travels, the higher in the sky the meteor showers will be.

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