Earth is constantly passing through dust clouds, and when these space rocks come into contact with the atmosphere, they burn up and appear as flashes of light. Not one, but three meteor showers are possible to send off the month well.

Best of all, the end of the month coincides with the new moon, which means the show can be enjoyed in all its glory. The best night to see is Saturday, July 30, until the sun sets on Sunday morning. It is also possible to catch some meteors in the following days, although the chances of success are low. At dusk, it is recommended to look east or northeast; At midnight and the following hours you should face north; During pre-dawn hours, look west or northwest.

According to an article in The Conversation, later this month Earth moves through the intersection of three debris streams with our planet’s orbit. Those three currents give birth to the stars of this weekend’s show: the South Delta Aquarids, the Alpha Capricornids and the Pisces Ostrinids.

The same article mentions that “the International Meteor Organization has 3D animated visualizations of the Southern Delta Aquarid and Alpha Capricornid meteor streams that show how the debris is distributed in space.”

Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower They are the result of cosmic material ejected by comet 96P Machols. Experts have warned that the chance of seeing a meteor shower is very low, especially in urban areas, but it is expected to happen by the end of this month. If you want to have more chance, we recommend choosing very dark places, even then, it may not be safe for you to see them.

Despite this, the aquarids of the southern delta are the most active of the three rains we have mentioned. If you see them, most of the meteors seen this weekend are likely members of this stream.

A plus point, the Moon was on the same side of the Earth as the Sun on July 28, meaning it was not visible in the night sky. If there is no moon, there is a better chance of seeing a dark sky. This translates to a good time to observe the stars and planets. To date, the moon has reached about 5% luminosity, but its brightness is still weak, meaning it is generally suitable for astronomical events.

If you can’t see them, don’t worry, there’s still more to come for the rest of the year. The most active meteor showers that occur for sure are the Perseids in August and the Geminids in December, which have 60 meteors per hour.

The shower of stars, which are actually meteors, is an astronomical phenomenon of singular beauty that we can enjoy a lot by observing the sky, fortunately without the need for a telescope. It doesn’t happen often and it’s rare to have a trio of these, so don’t miss out!