What direction is the meteor shower tonight near sydney nsw

The Piscis Austrinids, the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids showers all come from the same area of the night sky, and coincide with the dark night sky of a new moon, which should provide ideal viewing conditions.

Meteor showers are among the most reliable and enjoyable events for amateur astronomers, because even when conditions aren’t ideal, there’s a lot to see, according to Macquarie University Professor Orsola De Marco.

A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate, or originate, from one point in the night sky called the Radiant, with the actual meteor fragments made extremely hot by the resistance (or drag) they experience as they continue to fall before burning up in Earth's atmosphere. Showers can produce around 35 meteors per hour at their peak.

The Piscis Austrinids meteor shower is expected to peak first, starting on 28 July, while the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids will peak on 30 July. The peak period lasts about 48 hours.

The Southern Delta Aquariids will have the most meteors, with up to 20 an hour at the peak, according to Prof De Marco, with the Piscis Austrinids and the Alpha Capricornids displaying a relatively low shower rate, of five and four meteors an hour respectively, Prof De Marco said.

When and where is the best time to look?

While the meteor showers are visible from everywhere on Earth, there will be better viewing from the southern hemisphere.

Piscis Austrinids: peaks 28 July

The Piscis Austrinids is named after the Piscis Austrinus constellation, otherwise known as ‘The Southern fish’. According to the Guardian, If you’re on the east coast of Australia, the Piscis Austrinids will rise around 8pm to the south-east, travelling closer to due east by 11pm.

“Look towards the east, about 45 degrees up – about halfway between the horizon and above your head,” Prof De Marco said.

Southern Delta Aquariids: peaks 30 July

The Southern Delta Aquariids will be visible from around 11pm, to the east-northeast and 45 degrees upwards from the horizon. This shower has the quickest meteors of the three peaking this week.

Alpha Capricornids: peaks 30 July

The Alpha Capricornids can produce very bright ‘fireball’ meteors that appear to fall slowly across the sky. According to De Marco, at about 11pm on 30 July, the shower will be visible to the north-northeast, about 65 degrees up from the horizon.

Look to the North in August

In addition, the peak of the shower season for Sydney viewers will be the Perseid shower – where there may be up to a hundred shooting stars in an hour – set to occur around 3am on August 13.

Unfortunately Perseid coincides with a full moon during 2022, making meteors less visible. In Australia, the best viewing will be towards the north at 5am on 13 August.

With a rare celestial display hours away from lighting up our skies, here is how to make sure you don’t miss it.

More from space

‘Aliens’ crawling on coast spark panic online

‘Mystery’ asteroid headed to earth

‘Stay safe’: Time traveller’s 2023 warning

While we might be tempted to rug up and stay inside on Thursday night, Australians are being encouraged to head out into the backyard to view a rare trio of meteor showers.

Three celestial events, Southern Delta Aquariids, Alpha Capricornids and Piscis Austrinids, will illuminate Australian skies over the next few nights, coinciding with the dark night sky of a new moon, which is expected to provide ideal viewing conditions.

Macquarie University’s Professor Orsola De Marco says meteor showers are among the most enjoyable events for amateur astronomers because of their reliability; providing bright and beautiful displays even when conditions aren’t favourable.

Professor De Marco said the phenomenon when created when the Earth crossed paths with a comet’s orbit and encountered fallen debris.

“Like my cat, comets shed bits,” Professor De Marco told The Guardian Australia.

“It’s like when you are driving your car through a cloud of insects – you get them all in your windshield.”

The process, which is called the radiant, involves extremely hot meteor fragments falling through space before burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.

At their peaks, which last about 48 hours, showers can produce around 35 meteors per hour.

While the meteor showers are visible from everywhere on Earth, Australia is expected to be one of the top viewing locations.

So, when and where is the best time to look?

The Piscis Austrinids meteor shower is expected to peak first, starting on Thursday, July 28, with the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids following close behind on Saturday, July 30.

The most impressive light show will come on Saturday as the Southern Delta Aquariids graces our skies, with up to 20 meteors an hour at the peak, according to Professor De Marco.

Piscis Austrinids:

Named after the Piscis Austrinus constellation, or otherwise known as “The Southern Fish”’ this meteor shower will rise around 8pm on the east coast, travelling southeast throughout the night.

“Look towards the east, about 45 degrees up – about halfway between the horizon and above your head,” Professor De Marco said.

Southern Delta Aquariids:

From around 11pm on Saturday, the Southern Delta Aquariids – the quickest shower this week – will be visible to the east-northeast and 45 degrees upwards from the horizon.

Alpha Capricornids:

This shower can produce very bright “fireball” meteors that appear to fall slowly across the sky.

Professor De Marco said the Alpha Capricornids shower would be visible to the north-northeast, about 65 degrees up from the horizon, about 11pm on Saturday.

But these events won’t be the last we see, with more celestial events just weeks away.

Peak shower season for Sydneysiders will occur around 3am on August 13.

The meteor shower, known as the Perseid shower, will produce up to a hundred visible shooting stars in an hour.

However, due to the Perseid shower coinciding with a full moon during 2022, the display will be less visible.

More related stories