July’s double meteor shower could produce brilliant fireballs. Here's how to see them.
The Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids will overlap on July 30 and 31—but a bright moon could make their meteors difficult to spot.
On the night of July 30 into the early hours of July 31, two meteor showers will reach their peak at roughly the same time. The Southern Delta Aquariids could scatter numerous faint streaks across the sky, while the Alpha Capricornids may produce fewer—but much brighter—fireballs.
Unfortunately, viewing conditions in 2026 will be challenging. July's full moon arrives on July 29, leaving the moon approximately 98 percent illuminated during the showers' peak the following night. Its glare will brighten the night sky and obscure many of the fainter meteors.
Still, patient observers may spot some of the Alpha Capricornids' signature fireballs shining through the moonlight. Here's what you need to know to see the meteor showers this month.
Why do the meteor showers peak together?
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through streams of rocky material left behind by comets. The particles strike the planet's atmosphere at high speed, heating up and producing the streaks commonly called shooting stars.
"It is by complete happenstance that the debris trails from two different comets intersect where our planet passes through, creating the overlapping peaks," says Devon Salasin, head astronomer at Stargazing Moab.
The Southern Delta Aquariids remain active from mid-July into late August, while the Alpha Capricornids run from early July into mid-August. That extended activity means meteors from both showers may appear well before and after the official peak.
Is there a visible difference between the two meteor showers?
"Besides originating from slightly different spots in the sky, what is known as the radiant of the meteor showers, the Delta Aquariids offer more frequent, faint streaks, while the Alpha Capricornids are famous for slower, dazzling fireballs," says Alex Gianninas, an astronomy professor at Connecticut College.
Under ideal viewing conditions—that is, completely dark skies—the Southern Delta Aquariids can produce around 25 meteors per hour, while the Alpha Capricornids usually produce around five meteors per hour.
What is a fireball?
A fireball is an unusually bright meteor. "Most meteors are very small, sometimes the size of small dust particles, whereas meteors that create a more visible fireball are large in size, from pebble to boulder-sized chunks of rock," says Gianninas.
They may also travel more slowly than regular meteors and leave glowing trails that persist after the meteor itself disappears. "Colors of various ionizing elements can be more visible," says Salasin.
How can you see the meteor showers?
Skywatchers should find the darkest available location and allow their eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust. No telescope is necessary. Meteors can appear anywhere overhead, so reclining with a wide view of the sky offers the best chance of spotting one. Both showers are best viewed after midnight, when their radiant points rise higher in the sky.
While the nearly full moon will wash out much of the Southern Delta Aquariids' faint activity, an Alpha Capricornid fireball could still make the late-night vigil worthwhile. "Stay with it, and you can maybe see a glimpse of what this shower is best known for—slow-moving, bright fireballs," says Salasin.
When is the next meteor shower?
The next major meteor shower is a big one. The Perseids, one of the most prolific meteor showers of the year, are due to peak the night of August 12 into the morning of August 13. That means we're in for another astronomical double feature: the total solar eclipse in the afternoon, with the meteor shower to follow.
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While the eclipse will only be visible in a small swath across Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, the Perseids will be visible from most of the Northern Hemisphere and down to the Southern Hemisphere's mid-latitudes.
