Meteor extravaganza, the Perseids, marks the onset of summer's "shooting star" spectacle this week. Learn how to catch the celestial show.
## Minor Meteor Showers to Light Up the Skies Around July 29 and August 16
In the upcoming weeks, stargazers can look forward to several minor meteor showers gracing the night sky, according to the latest meteor activity outlooks for 2025. The four minor showers expected to be active around July 29 and August 16 are the Alpha Capricornids, Anthelion, Eta Eridanids, and phi Piscids.
| Shower | Peak Date | Peak Hourly Rate (ZHR) | Typical Activity Period | |-------------------------|---------------|------------------------|-------------------------------| | **Alpha Capricornids** | July 30 | <5 | June–Aug (best after mid-July) | | **Anthelion** | N/A (variable)| 1–3 | All year (best after midnight) | | **Eta Eridanids** | August 7 | <1 | July 31–Aug 19 | | **phi Piscids** | June 30 | <1 | June–Aug (faint, weak shower) |
The Alpha Capricornids, known for their bright yellow fireballs, are a reliable but minor shower that peaks on July 30, with activity spanning much of July and August. The Eta Eridanids, a very weak shower, is active from July 31 to August 19, while the phi Piscids, an extremely faint and weak shower, can be observed from June to August. The Anthelion shower, which represents a steady background of sporadic meteors, is active year-round, with rates varying little.
Class IV showers, such as phi Piscids and Eta Eridanids, are extremely difficult to observe visually and are often targeted by video and photographic meteor studies. Class III showers may occasionally show activity, but none are listed as reliably active during this period in 2025.
The Perseids, a major annual shower, are just beginning to ramp up during this period, with their peak (August 12–13) producing much higher rates. The Kappa Cygnids, another major shower, peak on Aug. 16 and run from Aug. 3 to 28, providing flaring fireballs that could reward careful observers.
It's worth noting that the actual number of meteors a single observer can see in an hour depends strongly on sky conditions. The radiant, the place in the sky where the paths of shower members intersect, can also affect the hourly rate of meteors observed. For example, if the radiant is 30 degrees above the horizon, the hourly rate is halved; at 15 degrees it is cut to a third.
Summertime meteors, including the Perseids, are active between early-July and the final week of August. The Alpha Capricornid shower's period of visibility is from July 3 to Aug. 15, with no specific peak date mentioned. The Delta Aquarids meteor shower has a broad three-day maximum running from July 29 through 31, with activity noted as early as July 12 and extending to Aug. 23.
The Delta Aquarids, composed of two radiants, one north and the other south, suggest two distinct streams of celestial debris. The southern Delta Aquarids are suspected to originate from comet 96P/Machholz, a short-period comet that orbits the sun about once every five years. The Alpha Capricornids are related to comet 169P/NEAT, whose path Earth crosses at this time each year. The Eta Eridanids appear to be related to a trail of dust shed by a faint comet traveling in a parabolic orbit that was observed through telescopes between May and June 1852.
Two of the minor showers (Alpha Capricornid and Southern Delta Aquarids) come from the region around the constellations of Aquarius and Capricornus, which are highest in the southern sky between roughly 1:30 and 2:30 a.m. local daylight time. The Delta Aquarids shower has an hourly rate of 25 meteors.
Between Aug. 3 and 15, there are four minor meteor showers (Delta Aquarids, Alpha Capricornid, Kappa Cygnids, and Southern Delta Aquarids) active in addition to the Perseids, offering a fantastic opportunity for stargazers to witness a multitude of shooting stars.
- Stargazers can also look to travel back in time with environmental-science and history studies, exploring the origins of the comets associated with the Alpha Capricornids and Delta Aquarids.
- As technology advances, space-and-astronomy enthusiasts may soon uncover news about these related comets, such as comet 169P/NEAT responsible for the Alpha Capricornids, and potential sightings in the near future.
- Furthermore, the science community is actively researching the environmental impact of all the cosmic debris entering Earth's atmosphere during these minor meteor showers, contributing valuable knowledge to this field and expanded awareness for future generations.
