In the next few days we will be able to enjoy a practically unique astronomical phenomenon: two meteor showers in the same night. The key moment in which the maximum activity of the two meteor showers will occur will be the night of Tuesday, July 29 to Wednesday, July 30 .
We are lucky that the Southern Aquarian Delta will be accompanied by the Alpha Capricorn. The former will come from a celestial body that does not belong to the solar system, Comet 96p / Machloz 1 , which approaches the Sun every 5.24 years, and the fact that its particles reach the vicinity of the Earth is due to the fact that they are thrown from another star towards us. However, little is known about this comet: that it is 6 kilometers in diameter and that it is quite fast (it approaches the Sun at 18.4 million kilometers).
One of the interesting details of the meteorites that we can see thanks to this comet is that due to the low speed with which they collide with our atmosphere, we can see not only a flash, but a luminous path , many of them with contrails, which they may be observed for a few seconds or even minutes.
Experts estimate about 15 or 20 visible meteors per hour , but we can find higher peaks. The show will be visible from anywhere in the world, although much better from the southern hemisphere.
On the other hand, the Alpha Capricónids do not represent a very copious meteor shower but, since they will join the Southern Delta Aquarids, the sum of both assures us an incredible spectacle. As with the others, the meteors of the Alpha Capricornids, which come from Comet 169P / NEAT, are large, slow, with long and bright paths, so it is possible that they can even illuminate the ground, which is called as “Ball of fire” .
