Meteor showers

This time of year there are several meteor showers that we can see.  From half July till half or the end of August we can see the Pisces Australids (between 21:30 and 5:00 hour), the S. Delta Aquarids (between 22:00 and 5:00 hour) and the Alpha Capricornids (between 20:00 and 4:00 hour). But what are meteor showers?

A meteor, or “shooting star”, is a particle of rock or dust that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and causes a streak of light when it burns up. In general meteors appear in the upper atmosphere, at an altitude of between 80 to 120 kilometres and disappear between 60 and 80 kilometres high. If the object is big enough, some of it will reach the surface and is then called a meteorite. Most meteors entering the atmosphere are sporadic, particles travelling through space in isolation. But several times a year, the Earth passes through streams of particles left behind by comets

in their passage around the Sun. At these times you can see more meteors than usual and they all seem to originate from the same area in the sky. This is called a meteor shower. Meteor showers are named after the constellation they seem to originate from, so the Pisces Australids originate from the constellation Pisces Australis, the S. Delta Aquarids from Aquarius and the Alpha Capricornids from Capricorn.

All three of these meteor showers reached their height in the end of July but will still be visible until mid or end August. Not all meteor showers will show you the same amount of “shooting stars” and the best viewing is when the constellation is high in the sky. All three of the mentioned meteor showers have favourable conditions and we have already seen a fair amount of meteors while stargazing with guests or even sitting around the campfire.

Regards from the bush
Miriam