The meteor shower in the southern Aquarius Delta is about to usher in a great

The meteor shower in the southern Aquarius Delta is about to usher in a great

The southern meteor shower in Aquarius is about to usher in a major event. Aquarius southern meteor shower is one of the medium-sized meteor showers that occur regularly every year. The active period lasts for more than one month from July 12 to August 23rd, and the Aquarius southern meteor shower is about to usher in a big event.

Aquarius Delta Southern Meteor Shower is about to usher in a huge 1 astronomical science expert introduction. On July 30th, the Delta Southern Meteor Shower in Aquarius has a huge scale and good observation conditions, so meteor shower lovers can look forward to it.

Aquarius Delta Meteor Shower, also known as Nanbao Delta Meteor Shower, is one of the medium-sized meteor showers that occur regularly every year and has a long active period. Song Yuanyuan, director of Tianjin Astronomical Society and an expert in astronomy in Tianjin Science and Technology Department, said that Aquarius has three meteor showers with radiation spots every year. In order to distinguish the three meteor showers, the names of bright stars near the radiation point will be added.

This is an Aquarius η meteor shower shot by Dai Jianfeng, a Chongqing astronomy enthusiast, in Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan on May 5, 2022. (Image provided by myself)

The first time was the η meteor shower in Aquarius, which appeared from April 19 to May 28th every year and reached its climax around May 6th. Its mother is the famous Halley's comet. The second time is the Aquarius δ southern meteor shower, which appears from July 12 to August 23rd every year and reaches its peak around July 30th. The matrix is unknown, and the most likely candidate is comet 96P/ Mekhez.

The third time is the Aquarius δ north meteor shower, which appears from July 15 to August 25th every year, reaching a great height around August 8th, and the mother is still unknown. Among them, the discharge of η meteor shower in Aquarius is the largest, and ZHR (the number of meteors that can be seen per hour when the radiation point is directly above the head under ideal observation conditions) is about 50.

Astronomical forecast shows that the peak of δ southern meteor shower in Aquarius this year is expected to appear on July 30th, and may last until July 3rd1,with ZHR of 25; After dark, the radiation point will rise near the eastern horizon and be visible all night.

This is the η meteor shower in Aquarius shot by Dai Jianfeng, a Chongqing astronomy enthusiast, in Hongyuan, Sichuan on May 7th, 2022. (Image provided by myself)

"Aquarius delta meteor shower is one of the main meteor showers in the southern hemisphere. For observers in the northern hemisphere, its radiation point will never rise too high, so the flow rate will be discounted, and the farther south the observation conditions are, the better. Although the traffic is not very large, there is no moonlight interference before and after the meteor shower this year, which means that the observation conditions are almost perfect when the weather is fine, and the public who like meteor showers can try to observe. " Song Yuanyuan said.

Poster production: Feng Juan

Around the end of July, there are also the Alpha Meteor Shower in Capricorn, the Pisces Meteor Shower and the Gamma Meteor Shower in Draco in July. "Although the flow of these meteor showers is not very large, when superimposed with the δ southern meteor shower in Aquarius, the total number of meteors will increase, and the public will have a greater chance to see meteors crossing the night sky." Song Yuanyuan said.

The southern meteor shower in the Aquarius Delta is about to usher in the big 2 "Penglai is separated from the wind and smoke, and the Milky Way lasts for nine days." The best observation time to see the Milky Way in the northern hemisphere is summer. Every year at midnight in July, the Milky Way rising in Ran Ran will split the sky in two, showing the most magnificent gesture of the Milky Way in summer.

Besides the bright Milky Way, there are three meteor showers waiting for us this weekend!

According to the astronomical forecast of Beijing Planetarium, this Saturday (July 30th), the maximum period of δ southern meteor shower in Aquarius and α meteor shower in Capricorn will also collide!

▲ Schematic diagram of radiation point of δ southern meteor shower in Aquarius (simulation software: Stellarium)

Among them, the active period of Pisces meteor shower is from July/KOOC-0/5 to August/KOOC-0/0, and the maximum period appears on July 28, with the zenith hour occurrence rate (ZHR) of 5 and the meteor speed of 35 km/s, which is mostly dark and has a long path.

The active period of Capricorn Alpha meteor shower is from July 3 to August 15, the maximum period is expected to be on July 30, and the hourly zenith appearance rate (ZHR) is also 5. Meteors are slow and bright, with an average brightness of about 3 and a speed of 23km/s, and occasionally there will be amazing fireballs!

▲ Schematic diagram of radiant point of Alpha meteor shower in Capricorn (simulation software: Stellarium)

Aquarius southern meteor shower is one of the medium-sized meteor showers that occur regularly every year. The active period lasted for more than one month from July 12 to August 23rd, and reached its maximum on July 30th, with the zenith hour occurrence rate (ZHR) of 25. There are many dark meteors with a speed of 41km/s.

Although the flow of these meteor showers is not large, the radiation points are concentrated in the small areas of Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces, and the overall number will naturally increase when they are superimposed. In addition, the Perseid meteor shower, which reached a great height in August of 13, also began to enter an active period. Although the flow of meteors is not large, it will also increase the number of meteors.

The moon is also very cooperative. At the end of the month, during the first month of the lunar calendar (0 1:55 on July 29), it is almost unaffected by moonlight all night, which means that the observation conditions are almost perfect when the weather is good. So, if you go out for an outing recently and occasionally look up at the sky at night, you may be lucky to meet a meteor.

Especially after midnight, when these constellations rise to the southern sky, the radiation point of meteor shower reaches the highest, which is the best time for observation.

Science popularization at the Beijing Planetarium said that there may be a special meteor shower mixed among these meteors, that is, the back meteor shower. It does not belong to any constellation, and it will appear all year round. The radiation center is always about ten degrees east of the opposite position of the sun and moves slowly on the ecliptic. At the end of July, the radiation point will appear near Capricorn. Meteor flow is always small, and the zenith hourly appearance rate (ZHR) is generally around 2-3.

However, the time and location of meteors are not fixed and unpredictable. Experts suggest that you choose a place with no light damage and a wide field of vision as much as possible, then lie flat and wait patiently for the arrival of the meteor shower.

According to experts' prediction, the southern meteor shower in Delta Aquarius will usher in a big event on July 30th. This meteor shower is one of the medium-sized meteor showers that occur regularly every year, with a long active period. Although the flow is not very large, there is no moonlight interference before and after this year's meteor shower, and the observation conditions of fine weather are almost perfect. Those who want to see the meteor shower, get ready!

Aquarius Delta South Meteor Shower, which appears from mid-July to mid-August, is also called Nanbao Delta Meteor Shower, and it is one of the medium-sized meteor showers that appear regularly every year. The maximum period is on July 28th or 29th, but mother doesn't know which comet it is. The first candidate is comet 96p/mekherz-1(1994o), but it was observed that this comet had split into several pieces in1994, but it came back in 2007.

The peak time of Aquarius meteor shower in 2022 is July 29th 10 UTC. However, there is no real peak in this meteor shower. From the end of July to the beginning of August, it will pass quite smoothly and meet the Perseid meteor shower in August. After sunset, the radiant point rises, and one or two hours before dawn is the best time to watch the Aquarius meteor shower. If you watch it in early August, you may see a large number of Aquarius meteor showers and Perseid meteor showers appear together.

What is a meteor shower?

Let's talk about meteors first. In addition to the sun, eight planets and their satellites, asteroids and comets, there are a large number of cosmic dust particles and tiny solid blocks in the solar system, which also move around the sun, collectively known as meteoroids.

These meteoroids fly silently along their respective orbits, but they also collide from time to time, or are influenced by the gravity of larger celestial bodies around them, changing their original orbits. They are finally captured by the gravity of the earth and rushed to the earth.

When the earth passes through the position where meteoroids run, a large number of meteoroids rush into the atmosphere at high speed, rub with the air, burn and glow, and form meteors. Meteor shower is an astronomical phenomenon that many meteors emit from a so-called radiation point in the sky.

As early as the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, there were records of meteor showers in the book Spring and Autumn Period edited by Confucius. In the seventh year of Lu Zhuanggong's reign, "in summer and April, the night stars disappear and fall like rain". This is a meteor shower that happened in 687 BC and was seen in Qufu, the capital of Shandong (now Qufu, Shandong). According to the research of astronomers, the meteor shower recorded in Spring and Autumn Annals is the earliest meteor shower recorded in Lyra in the world.