Dueling Meteor Showers About to Put on a Show

It's almost time for summer's meteor shower duet. The Southern Delta Aquariid and the Alpha Capricornid meteor showers peak at the same time—in the early morning of Wednesday, per the AP. Without too much interference from moonlight—the waxing moon will be only about a quarter full—the meteors should appear bright and clear in regions away from city lights.

With each shower expected to produce up to a dozen visible meteors per hour under dark skies, the doubleheader means the total number of meteors "do add up," said Thaddeus LaCoursiere, planetarium program coordinator at the Bell Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota.

• The best time to watch is in the early predawn hours when the moon is low in the sky.
• No special equipment is needed. "Look for flashes of light in the night sky," said LaCoursiere, adding that both are "very nice classic meteor showers."
• The next major meteor shower, the Perseids, peaks in mid-August.