The annual alpha Capricornid meteor shower is currently underway.
The alpha Capricornids are improving every year and will become a major annual storm in 2200 – 2400 A.D., one that will be stronger than any current annual shower.
These days, Earth is passing through a stream of debris from Comet 169P/NEAT, source of the annual alpha Capricornid meteor shower.
The peak of this weak annual shower is between the 25th and 30th of July with fireball rates no higher than 5 to 10 meteors per hour.
But, every year, the alpha Capricornids are improving. The debris stream of Comet 169P/NEAT is slowly drifting across Earth’s orbit, so that each year our planet passes a little closer to its heart. The bulk of the dust will not be in Earth’s path until the 24th century. Then, the alpha Capricornids will become a major annual storm in 2200 – 2400 A.D., stronger than any current annual shower.
This video shows four amazing fireballs recorded on July 22-23, 2015. They were produced by 4 large fragments from comet 169P/NEAT. The impact took place at about 80.000 km per hour. These events belong to the alpha-Capricornid meteor shower 2015:
As explained by Space Weather:
[quote_box_center]Until then, sky watchers should remain alert for a relatively small number of alpha Capricornid fireballs in the nights ahead. Observers in both hemispheres can see this minor but beautiful shower. The best time to look is during the hours around local midnight when the constellation Capricorn reaches its highest point in the southern sky.[/quote_box_center]
