This summer, the sky comes to life with shooting stars. What you need to know about the current meteor showers.

Three showers of different meteors occur at the same time this month, giving Skywatchers many chances of spending their summer nights in search of shooting stars.

The annual alpha capricornides, the aquariids of the southern delta and the showers of Perseid meteors are all currently active, each celestial program should last in mid-August.

Here is what you need to know about these meteor showers, and where and how you can locate the filming stars.

Alpha capricornides

The Alpha Capricornid and the Southern Delta Aquarids will reach an activity at the end of this month, during the night of July 29 to 30, while the Perseids – often considered as the screen of shooting the best and the most reliable – will increase to its summit next month.

Skywatchers will probably meet mainly favorable conditions for catching meteor showers in July, according to American Meteor Society.

The Alpha Capricornid Meteor shower is generally not a strong display, but it can produce a number of balls of shiny fire while being active. At its peak, the meteor shower can produce about five stars of shooting per hour under Dark sky and clear conditions, according to the American Meteor Society.

The shower takes its name because the meteors seem to broadcast from the Capricorn constellation. During the peak of this year, the moon will only be 27%, offering people on each side of the equator a chance to catch the celestial spectacle.

The alpha Capricornid meteor shower occurs when the earth passes through clouds of dust particles and the 169p / career comet, which completes an orbit around the sun every 4.2 years. While pieces of debris hit the atmosphere of the planet and vaporize, they create brilliant streaks of light which sometimes leave brilliant trails.

South Delta Aquariids

The aquariids of the southern delta, as their name suggests, are better seen from the southern hemisphere. This meteor shower is able to produce up to 25 meteors per hour in ideal conditions, but the shooting stars are generally lower.

The southern aquariid delta can be difficult to spot, according to NASA, but this year’s best chances will probably be early in the morning.

It is believed that the meteor shower is caused by pieces of the 96p / Machholz comet, which completes an orbit around the sun every 5.2 years.

Perseids

Finally, the Perseid meteor shower is underway and should culminate during the night of August 12 to 13. Perseids are generally one of the most anticipated Skywatch events of the year because the meteor shower occurs for hot summer months in the northern hemisphere And it usually offers a high rate of shooting stars. Under ideal conditions, Perseids can produce up to 100 stars of shooting per hour.

This year, however, the moon will be complete at around 84%, which will probably wash meteors and “COMPROGATE this shower severely at the time of maximum activity”, according to the American Meteor Society.

“Such conditions will reduce the activity by at least 75%, because only the brighter meteors will be visible,” said the company in its forecasts.

The Perseid shower occurs when the earth passes through a cloud of dust particles and debris left from a comet known as 109p / Tuttle Swift.