How to watch the double meteor showers tonight

(NewsNation) – Southern states could see peak periods of two meteor showers nearly overlap Tuesday night, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).

Observers will be able to see Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids double rains in the Southern Hemisphere and in the southern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

Meteor showers are caused by Earth passing through the trail of debris left by a comet. As comets travel through space, they release small particles of dust and rock that enter Earth’s atmosphere as it passes by. The particles burn and create bright streaks of light across the sky.

Meteor showers are generally most visible between midnight and pre-dawn and are easiest to see under a dark sky, away from city lights.

The southern Delta Aquarids peaked on the evening of July 29, but are active between July 18 and August 21 and are best observed in the southern tropics. AMS experts recommend looking toward the southwestern sky if the moon is above the horizon during viewing.

According to for AMS, these meteors are generally faint and do not have persistent trains and fireballs. The parent comet of the Delta Aquarids is comet 96P/Machholz.

The Alpha Capricornids will peak on the evening of July 30th, but will be active from July 7th to August 15th. They can be seen equally well on both sides of the equator.

According to for AMS, this rain is not very heavy, rarely producing more than five showers per hour, but it does produce many bright fireballs. The parent comet of the Alpha Capricornids is comet 169P/Neat.

The next significant meteor shower will be the Perseids, which will be active from July 14th to September 1st and will peak on August 12th. AMS claims that the Perseids are particles released from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

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