We’ve heard that the Perseid Meteor Shower is currently underway, but did you know two others will peak at the same time July 29 and 30??

The two meteor showers are the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids. Both of these showers are active now and will go through August 12.

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The real show to watch for will be on July 29 and July 30, as these two meteor showers will peak at the same time. With these peaking at the same time, it promises to be a spectacular show. Especially since the moon will be in its waxing crescent phase. In this phase, the moon will be a small sliver, giving us less light in the sky, so the meteors will show up better. We will be able to see these showers in Arkansas and Texas.

What to Expect in Arkansas and Texas Skies With Two Meteor Showers?

According to meteorologists, there should be around 25 meteors an hour and there will also be some fireballs in the sky. Of course, remember that the Perseid Meteor shower is also going on in the northeast sky, although it won’t reach its peak until August 12 and 13.

The Delta Aquariids will bring meteors with long tails and then the Alpha Capricornids will bring bright fireballs.

Best Time to Watch For These Meteor Showers in Arkansas and Texas

The best time to view the show will be late Tuesday night, July 29 and after midnight and into the early hours on Wednesday, July 30. Of course, it is best to watch this celestial show away from city lights under a dark, clear sky. And there will be no need for a telescope, just look to the southern sky and enjoy the show!

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The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids peak together July 30/31, while the Perseids are ramping up for an early August peak.

Key Takeaways:

The Alpha Capricornid, Southern Delta Aquariid, and Perseid meteor showers have already begun, but like all meteor showers, they’ve been ramping up slowly. Now, their peaks are right around the corner.

The Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids will peak around the same time: July 31, while the Perseids reach their maximum in mid-August.

Here’s everything you need to know to catch July’s stunning double meteor shower plus what will be the best meteor shower of the year, the upcoming Perseids.

How to view meteors

Light pollution — including moonlight — can wash out the light from meteors, so meteor showers are best viewed in a dark sky with no Moon, in a location that’s far from streetlights or other sources of light.

You don’t need any special equipment to watch a meteor shower. In fact, viewing with the naked eye is by far the best method because meteors pass through the atmosphere too quickly to spot them with binoculars or other viewing equipment. Meteors can also appear anywhere across a broad swath of sky at random, so you need a large field of view to find them.

The Alpha Capricornids

When to watch

The Alpha Capricornids are active from July 3 to Aug. 15 and will peak on the night of July 30 into the morning of the 31st. On this night, the Moon will be a waning crescent about 18 percent lit when it rises around 2 A.M. local daylight time. Although this meteor shower will only yield a maximum zenithal rate of about 5 meteors per hour, the Alpha Capricornids are known to produce occasional bright, slow-moving fireballs.

Parent object

Meteor showers occur when the trail of debris that comets leave behind as they round the Sun intersects with Earth’s orbit and burns up in our atmosphere. The comet that produced the debris is known as the meteor shower’s parent object.

The Alpha Capricornids originate from debris left by the comet 169P/NEAT, which orbits the Sun every 4.2 years.

The radiant

A meteor shower’s radiant is the point from which meteors appear to radiate in the sky. Showers are named after the position of their radiant. The Alpha Capricornids radiate from a point in far northwestern Capricornus. The constellation will be visible roughly all night from mid-latitudes, though it only reaches about 30° in altitude at its highest. More northern latitudes will have less visibility than more southerly ones.

With small meteor showers like the Alpha Capricornids, it might be beneficial to focus your gaze closer to the radiant so you can see the most meteors, although strictly fixing your gaze there isn’t necessary, as meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. This is especially true for larger meteor showers like the Perseids. However, you will want to make sure that the radiant is above the horizon so that the most meteors will be visible.

Additionally, because meteors originate from the radiant, the longest trains, or streaks in the sky, are generally a few tens of degrees away from the radiant, on either side.

The Southern Delta Aquariids

When to watch

The Southern Delta Aquariids are active from July 12 to Aug. 23. Unlike some meteor showers, the Southern Delta Aquariids do not have a sharp peak; instead, the rate of meteors gradually builds as the meteor shower progresses. At their maximum on the 31st, the Southern Delta Aquariids produce about 25 meteors per hour when the radiant is overhead.

Because the moonlight will interfere with viewing conditions as the shower ramps down in mid- to late August, the best time to watch will be the last couple nights of July, when the shower officially peaks, and into the first week of August, when moonlight will be negligible and the Moon will set before midnight.

The nights of July 30 and 31 will be ideal to view this shower because the moonlight won’t be a problem early on. The evening of July 30 is moonless, as the Moon won’t rise until 2 A.M. local daylight time on the 31st, as is the night of July 31, when a thin crescent Moon (10 percent lit) won’t rise until roughly 2:45 A.M. local daylight time on Aug. 1.

However, note that the best time to view any meteor shower is in the early-morning hours, when Earth is rotating into the meteor stream. Fortunately, on July 31 and Aug. 1, the waning Moon shouldn’t interfere too much even after it rises.

The Southern Delta Aquariids are best seen south of the equator, but plenty of shower meteors still grace the Northern Hemisphere sky. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Radiant

The Southern Delta Aquariids’ radiant is in southern Aquarius. It rises after Capricornus in the evening and reaches its highest point in the sky around 2:30 A.M. local daylight time.

Parent object

The Southern Delta Aquariids are debris left by Comet 96P/Machholz, which was discovered in 1986 by Donald Machholz. This comet orbits the Sun once every 5.3 years.

The Perseids

When to watch

The Perseids are active this year from July 17 to Aug. 24, peaking early on the morning of Aug. 12. The Perseids have a sharp peak, so be sure not to miss them overnight on Aug. 11/12 if you want to have the best viewing experience.

This is by far the largest meteor shower of the summer, with a zenithal hourly rate during the peak of some 100 meteors per hour. The only other meteor showers of comparable size — the Geminids and the Quadrantids — occur in December and January. Furthermore, this year’s Geminids will be overshadowed by a nearly Full Moon, making the Perseids the best and most enjoyable meteor shower of the year.

Even better: Although the Moon on Aug. 11 will be a waxing crescent some 45 percent illuminated, the Moon will set before midnight so you don’t have to worry about moonlight getting in the way of your skywatching experience during the ideal time for viewing in the early-morning hours.

The Perseids’ peak Aug. 12 is best viewed in the early morning. Note that Mars and Jupiter are days from a conjunction. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly

Radiant

The Perseids’ radiant is in northwestern Perseus. If your latitude is around 40° north or greater in the Northern Hemisphere, the radiant doesn’t set, so it should remain visible all night. However, note that you’ll still want to wait for that radiant to reach its highest point in the sky to see the most meteors — this is around dawn, although it’s possible to see meteors as early as 10 P.M.

However, you won’t necessarily need to find the radiant to enjoy the Perseids, since they will be visible throughout the whole sky.

Parent object

The Perseids originate from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which was co-discovered 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle. The comet orbits the Sun once every 133 years.

The Southern Delta Aquarids, which have been active since about July 18, reached their peak on the night between July 29 and 30. They remain active until Aug. 21, and are best seen in the Southern Hemisphere in the constellation Aquarius.

The Alpha Capricornids have been active since July 7. They peak between July 30 and 31 and are visible from both hemispheres in the constellation Capricorn.

According to Robert Lunsford, the fireball report coordinator of the American Meteor Society, the best time to catch the double showers is well after midnight, when the points in the night sky from which they radiate are high above the horizon. Light from the moon, which will be as much as 30 percent full, may obscure some of the show. (Moonlight affects visibility in the same way as light pollution, washing out fainter sources of light in the sky.)

The Alpha Capricornids and the Southern Delta Aquarids will both appear to originate from the southern part of the sky, but you can tell which meteor came from which shower by its features, Mr. Lunsford said. The Alpha Capricornids are bright and slow, tending to last several seconds in the sky. Streaks from the Southern Delta Aquarids, on the other hand, are faster and fainter.

While those two showers are the stars of this week, if you look to the northern part of the sky you may also be able to spot the bright, speedy meteors from the Perseids, which come from the constellation Perseus. Known as one of the best showers of the year, the Perseids have a sharp peak on the night between Aug. 11 and 12.