As July comes to a close, sky watchers can expect two meteor showers this weekend, one of which will peak on 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.
According to AMS, delta aquariids are best viewed from the southern tropics. When the meteor is viewed from north of the equator, the radiant, or the point of apparent origin of the meteor’s path, is 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 maximum, the moon will be 5% full.
Meteor showers are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids that enter Earth’s atmosphere at extremely high speeds in parallel trajectories. According to the AMS, the most popular meteor shower, the Perseids, will peak on August 11-12.
In case you missed the Delta Aquariids shower, don’t worry, there are plenty more to come. Here is a complete list of meteor showers predicted for 2022:
August 12: Perseids
October 21: Orionides
November 5: Southern Taurides
November 12: Taurides of the North
Nov. 17: Leonidas
December 14: Geminids
December 22: Ursids
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Tre’Vaughn Howard
Tre’Vaughn Howard is a producer and reporter for CBS News, focusing on international and cultural stories.