3 Meteor Showers To Light Up IL Skies In July: How To Watch

ILLINOIS — The Perseid meteor shower is underway now, giving Illinois skywatchers good reason to stretch out under the early morning sky and dream while wide awake.

Warm summer nights are beckoning. Many parts of the country are suffering under a scorching heat wave, according to the forecast from AccuWeather. In Illinois, the National Weather Service seven-day forecast calls for steamy weather in the 90s and upper 80s this weekend, then highs in the 80s next week.

Thunderstorms are possible Sunday, with cloudy skies next week — including "more clouds than sun" on Thursday.

To make the most of the meteor showers, make a plan to get as far away as possible from city lights. Designated dark sky parks include 27 national parks. EarthSky.org also maintains a database of the best places to stargaze, including the following places in Illinois:

• Dearborn Observatory (Northwestern University), 2131 Tech Drive, Evanston.
• Afton Preserve, 13600 Crego Road, DeKalb

The Perseids are only one reason to start scanning the skies over Illinois. Here’s reason No. 2: The Delta Aquariid (sometimes spelled Aquarid) meteor shower runs through Aug. 2, peaking July 28-29, with about 20 meteors an hour.

A new moon will mean dark skies, so viewing conditions should be excellent, but keep in mind this shower favors southern latitudes, according to the American Meteor Society.

And here’s reason No. 3: The Alpha Capricornids, which run through Aug. 15 and have a “plateau-like” peak on July 31, may be one of the more underrated meteor showers of the summer. Granted, the American Meteor Society said it is “not very strong,” rarely producing more than five meteors an hour. But you shouldn’t dismiss it, either.

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“What is notable about this shower,” the organization pointed out on its website, “is the number of bright fireballs produced during its activity period.”

Consider both the Delta Aquariids and Capricornids dress rehearsals for the spectacular Perseids. “Summering” doesn’t get better than this.

The best views of the extraordinarily bright Perseids will come at their Aug. 11-13 peak, and you won’t want to miss that. But you should start watching the skies before dawn up until then because the full sturgeon supermoon will compete for attention at the peak.

Skywatchers should still get a good show, though. The Perseids produce about 50 to 100 meteors an hour at the peak, according to NASA. The shower is produced by the comet 109/P Swift-Tuttle, discovered in 1862.

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Like the Alpha Capricornids, the Perseids are known for their fireballs, which are “larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak,” NASA said, explaining, “This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material.”

The shower is called the Perseids because its radiant point is located near the prominent constellation of Perseus the hero.

Check back with Patch for more about the Perseids when the peak approaches.