Multiple Fireball-Filled Meteor Showers Peaking Now Ahead Of Perseids

The most famous annual meteor shower is currently active, but the renowned Perseids won’t reach their peak until August 12 or 13. These shining shooting stars are already visible, along with trails and fireballs from other showers that are nearing their maximum intensity.

The strongest meteor shower at the moment is the Southern delta Aquariids, which is expected to peak on Sunday. However, this shower doesn’t have a distinct maximum. Instead, it contributes a few meteors per hour to the overall night sky display throughout late July and early August.

An interesting characteristic of delta Aquariid meteors is that nearly one-tenth of them create lingering and glowing trains in the atmosphere, lasting a second or two longer than typical meteors.

Viewing the meteor shower will be challenging due to the brightness of the mostly full moon, which washes out the fainter meteors in the next few nights. It is recommended to take advantage of the early morning hours after the moon has set.

More Meteor Madness

The alpha Capricornids won’t reach their peak until Monday, but they have already been illuminating the skies with a stunning display of fireballs. In the video below, captured by Robert Lunsford for the American Meteor Society, seven fireballs can be seen on the night of Tuesday, July 26th into the early morning of Wednesday.

Lunsford mentions that the best time to observe these fireballs is around 1 a.m. local time.

The July gamma Draconids, which peak around July 28, may contribute about one meteor per hour to the meteor shower. Although they are generally a weak shower, they unexpectedly produced a brief but intense outburst in 2016, leaving room for the possibility of a surprising repeat performance.

Perseid Popularity And Potential

Of course, all these meteor showers are just a warm-up for the Perseids, which are already making their appearance in the night skies. However, they are expected to culminate in a spectacular peak in mid-August, with up to 100 meteors per hour being commonly observed.

Coupled with pleasant summer nights in the northern hemisphere, this is the perfect time to spend the night outdoors.

Experts can attempt to identify the source of each meteor and determine which shower it belongs to by observing its direction and tracing it back to its radiant, which is the apparent origin in the sky. This helps in identifying the specific cloud of debris near Earth that the meteor originated from.

For casual observers, spotting shooting stars doesn’t have to be complicated. It simply involves finding a location with a dark sky and a wide view of the heavens. Bring a comfortable blanket, lounger or hammock, and some refreshments. Then, lay back and look up.

Allow your eyes at least fifteen minutes to adjust to the darkness, and allocate at least an hour for the entire experience to account for the inevitable lulls in activity. Keep in mind that a hundred meteors per hour do not come at a regular rate. Instead, there are bursts of several meteors in a short period followed by longer intervals without any activity.

Fortunately, Perseid season usually rewards patience. Enjoy!

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