Trio of meteor showers to dazzle Australia and New Zealand – how to see and best time to view tonight and this weekend

  • 📰 GuardianAus
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 42 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 20%
  • Publisher: 98%

Australia Headlines News

Australia Latest News,Australia Headlines

New moon on 29 July will provide ideal viewing conditions as cosmic debris from comets enters Earth’s atmosphere

The night sky in Australia and New Zealand is set to be illuminated by a trio of meteor showers – the Piscis Austrinids, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids – that will peak this weekend.

The Piscis Austrinids meteor shower is expected to peak first, on 28 July, while the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids will peak on 30 July. The peak period lasts about 48 hours.The Southern Delta Aquariids will have the most meteors, with up to 20 an hour at the peak, according to Prof Orsola De Marco from Macquarie University.

“Like my cat, comets shed bits,” De Marco said. “These bits remain pretty much in orbit – so imagine a very elongated orbit that’s full of little bits.” A meteor shower is named after the nearest constellation to the radiant, the point in the sky which the shower appears to come from. The radiant of the Southern Delta Aquariids, for example, is close to the star Delta Aquarii, in the constellation Aquarius.When and where is the best time to view the meteor showers?

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 1. in AU

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Australia urged to join New Zealand in tobacco ‘endgame’New Zealand-style laws to eradicate tobacco would be a game changer in closing the gap between the life expectancy of Indigenous and white Australians, experts say. Bring it on! Yer yer yer .. we love smoking it’s good. It’s an anti inflammatory. Not joining New Zealand in anything until New Zealand remove McClure RMR and Mas & Sons -IGA and Alex Cockram and Veolia garbage and violent biohazard espionage from Main St, Maldon Victoria, Australia!
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

Aussie tourists injured as ground ‘opens up’ into terrifying sinkhole in New ZealandThe couple’s visit to a tourist attraction quickly took a turn for the worse when they fell into the hole on the collapsed footpath.
Source: 7NewsMelbourne - 🏆 18. / 59 Read more »

Australian tourist in serious condition after falling into thermal sinkhole in New ZealandThe 2m-wide hole opened up suddenly on a footpath at Whakarewarewa tourist village in Rotorua, in central North Island
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

New Zealand schools hit by bomb threats in suspected overseas ‘cyberbot’ attackMore than a dozen schools forced to lock down or evacuate in scenes reminiscent of 2016 when more than 30 schools were affected
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

Perth woman injured after falling into sinkhole at New Zealand tourist attractionThe woman is in a stable condition after a hole opened up in a footpath leading into a Māori village tourist attraction about 200 kilometres south-east of Auckland. Hope that information only came from the NZ ministry of truth. Is Jacina dead yet?
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »

New Zealand climbers survive avalanche and blizzard, thanks to snow cave and muesli barsThe two men were at the end of a three-day trip in The Remarkables above Queenstown when they triggered an avalanche
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »