A lesser-known meteor shower is going to peak this week in the skies over Michigan. While the meteors may not be numerous, they are known to be showy.
The Alpha Capricornids is a meteor shower that happens every year in July or early August. It’s not a well-known meteor shower to most of us because the number of meteors isn’t enough to warrant many people staying up late to see it.
The Alpha Capricornids typically only show five to 10 meteors per hour, according to Mike Murray, Delta College Planetarium astronomer. Murray says the amount of meteors expected is not much more that we would see on an average night. In comparison, the Perseids can show 50 to 100 meteors per hour.
“The distinguishable parts of the Alpha Capricornids are the relatively slow movement of the meteors, and their propensity for fireballs,” Murray said.
Fireballs are defined as meteors brighter than Venus. Seeing a big fireball can be a lifetime memory. They can almost look like a plane on fire just above the horizon.
The Alpha Capricornids should peak either Wednesday night, July 28 or Thursday night, July 29. Before midnight Wednesday night, skies should be clear for at least southern Lower Michigan. Thursday night could have clear skies for all of Michigan.
Another interesting feature of the Alpha Capricornids is the slower movement of the meteors. Now this might not sound slow, but Murray states the Alpha Capricornids meteors can travel as slow as 54,000 miles per hour. The Perseid meteors zoom by at 129,000 miles per hour. In the real world, this means an Alpha Capricornid meteor travels at half the speed of a Perseid meteor. It doesn’t give you a lot of time to watch the Alpha Capricornids meteor, but gives you a few more seconds of viewing each meteor.
A tip from Murray on how best to see them: “Before midnight, the radiant point (where they emanate) will come from the southeast, radiating more from the south after midnight. The peak of the shower is more of a plateau that spans several nights, centered on July 28-29 this year. Unfortunately the bright waning gibbous moon (about 74% full) will wash out the fainter meteors, but the fireballs will still shine through!”
So if you see a slow-moving fireball low on the horizon, you know what you just witnessed.
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July 27, 2021 at 10:24PM
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Slow fireballs will arc across Michigan skies with this week’s meteor shower - MLive.com
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