(NLĐO) - Earth has just "cut off the tails" of two comets at the same time, leading to two overlapping meteor showers, which will reach their peak in the next few days.
According to Live Science, astronomy enthusiasts are about to witness a "double" meteor shower as both the Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids will reach their peak next week.
A meteor shower - Photo: NASA
The Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower, seemingly originating from the constellation Aquarius, began gently in mid-July and only ceased in mid-August.
However, it will be at its peak on July 29th or 30th this year, depending on your country's time zone.
Meanwhile, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower began its light shower in early July and continued until August 15th, but will peak on July 30th or 31st.
This meteor shower originates quite close to the radiant point of the Southern Delta Aquariids, near the constellation Capricorn.
The locations where the two meteor showers originated are marked in green - Photo: THE WEATHER NETWORK
The Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids were created when Earth flew through the rocky, dusty tails of comets 96P/Machholz and 169P/NEAT, respectively.
Astronomer Nicholas Moskovitz from the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, USA, told Live Science that this double event was an incredible coincidence, with the orbits of the objects inadvertently crossing each other at precisely the right location and time.
Each meteor shower will only light up the Earth's sky with a few dozen meteors per hour during its peak, but because they appear together, we will still see a spectacular display.
If you miss the most spectacular nights, observing a couple of days before or after will still allow you to enjoy quite a few meteor showers.
The best viewing location for these two meteor showers is the Southern Hemisphere. However, some countries in the Northern Hemisphere can still easily see them if they have a good view of the southern horizon.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/mua-sao-bang-kep-hiem-gap-dat-dinh-3-ngay-dau-tuan-196240726121252294.htm
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