Seeing a shooting star never gets old. And if you’re a night owl or an early riser, you’re in luck, because there’s a lot going on in the sky this week.
Two meteor showers — the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids —peak Tuesday night, giving stargazers a chance to see 20 to 30 meteors per hour.
Sky & Telescope senior editor Kelly Beatty said meteors, or shooting stars, are tiny, sand-sized pieces of space grit that slam into our atmosphere at high speeds of 10 to 30 miles per second. The kinetic energy superheats the atmosphere and causes the white streaks we see from Earth.
Light from the thin crescent moon shouldn’t interfere with the showers, Beatty said, but stargazers won’t see any action until at least 11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
These meteors could appear anywhere in the sky, he said, so look at the part that appears darkest and look for flashes of light.
If you’re in an urban area battling light pollution, go find a soccer field or a dark park where there are no lights in the immediate area, Beatty said.
Be patient: Expect to see a meteor every five to 10 minutes, he said.
“ It’s not like it’s going to be raining meteors,” Beatty said, “but it is very satisfying when you see them.”
You can also look up and see two space stations in the sky tonight — the International Space Station and a Chinese Space Station. Space stations reflect sunlight, so look for them during the evening hours, Beatty said.
For predictions on what to see in the sky, check out Heavens Above.
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Julia Corcoran produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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