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

WISCONSIN — The Perseid meteor shower is already underway now, giving Wisconsin skywatchers a great reason to stretch out under the early morning sky and see dreams while wide awake.

Warm summer nights are here. Especially as many parts of the country are suffering under a scorching heat wave, according to the forecast from AccuWeather. In Wisconsin, the National Weather Service seven-day forecast calls for warmth throughout this week with sporadic chances for showers and thunderstorms, but mostly clear skies.

Here's the National Weather Service forecast for the Milwaukee area through this weekend:

Wednesday: Mostly sunny during the day with a high around 85. Wind gusts possible up to 30 mph.

Wednesday night: Mostly clear sky with a low around 66 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

Thursday: After 1 p.m. a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Otherwise sunny and hot with a high around 90.

Thursday night: Mostly clear skies with a low around 66.

Friday: Mostly sunny with a high around 89.

Friday night: A 30 percent chance of showers and partly cloudy.

Saturday: A chance of showers remains with thunderstorms possible after 1 p.m. A high near 89 and an overall 40 percent chance of precipitation.

Saturday night: Showers are likely and thunderstorms are possible. Mostly cloudy. 60 percent chance of precipitation.

Sunday: Chance of showers remains with thunderstorms possible after 1 p.m. Partly sunny and a high near 80.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy skies with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.

The Perseids aren't the only reason to start scanning the skies over Wisconsin. 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.

Related: 2022 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons, Other Celestial Events

“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.

You May Also Like: Aurora Borealis Displays More Likely In Active Solar Storm Season and Aurora Borealis Hunting: What’s A Kp Index, More Northern Lights Tips

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.