Meteor showers bring everything from faint streaks to vivid fireballs to the sky

Multiple meteor showers are expected to dazzle stargazers in the coming weeks, with two such events peaking in the next few days.

On Monday and Tuesday nights, the Delta Aquariids meteor shower will peak with the meteors originating from the southern sky. According to the American Meteor Society, this shower will bring numerous meteors, but the downside is they will produce relatively faint streaks.

The meteors are from the leftovers of comet 96P/Machholz, which made its last near-Earth approach in 2023. The four-mile-wide comet's orbit will put it near Earth's orbit in 2028.

Another meteor shower peaking this week is the Alpha Capricornids, which could produce five meteors per hour at its peak. The shower will peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the American Meteor Society said.

Unlike the Delta Aquariids, the Alpha Capricornids tend to produce bright fireballs. These meteors will radiate from high in the southern sky in the late evening.

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In a few weeks, the Perseids mark one of the biggest meteor showers of the year. At its peak on Aug. 12-13, the Perseids will produce up to 75 meteors an hour shooting across the night sky.

The meteors are produced by the leftovers of the 109P/Swift-Tuttle comet. The comet, which last passed through the inner solar system in 1992, left a trail of rock and dust, which burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Perseids will radiate from the northern sky and will be most visible in the late evening and early morning hours at its peak.