A few clouds. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

A few clouds. Low 71F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.

Entertainment Editor | Copy Editor | Astronomy Writer

A friend asked me last week if there were any good meteor showers coming up.

I somewhat sheepishly replied that I don’t keep track of meteor showers.

It’s true. For some reason, I’ve never tracked or memorized what meteor shower falls in each month. I of course know about the major ones, like the Perseids, Geminids and Orionids, but if you asked me to name five more I might fail the test.

If you’re curious about meteor showers, the American Meteor Society has a very informative website (amsmeteors.org) that tells you about the ones coming up this year, as well as the expected conditions.

For example, according to amsmeteors.org, the next meteor shower is set to be the Southern delta Aquariids, from July 18 to Aug. 21. However, the shower might be too low for us to observe.

As I mentioned, the Perseids are kind of the big ones, lighting up skies from July 14 to Sept. 1, according to the website. Numerous meteors can sometimes be seen from this particular meteor shower. Unfortunately, according to the AMS, the Moon will be completely full. On the other hand, with a helpful starmap on my phone, I determined that on that night the Moon will be in the opposite direction of the radiant of the meteor shower.

So, I’m telling you there’s a chance.

What I found while checking on all these meteor showers was that there’s a high variability in Moon phase. That kind of left it impossible to find the “perfect” meteor shower.

As I’ve mentioned though, you don’t need to wait for a scheduled shower to see meteors. I’ve seen many more on accident than ones I’ve intended on seeing. And, as an added bonus, I’ve never had to strain my neck for those. A win all around.

Malan is astronomy writer and presentation editor for the Enid News & Eagle. Email him at jmalan@enidnews.com. Listen to his audio show at https://soundcloud.com/user-182353878.

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Malan is astronomy writer and presentation editor for the Enid News & Eagle. Email him at jmalan@enidnews.com.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Joe? Send an email to jmalan@enidnews.com.

Entertainment Editor | Copy Editor | Astronomy Writer

Hi, I'm Joe. I've been with the Enid News & Eagle since June 2009. I design many of the pages you see each week in your newspaper. I love writing and talking about space, and I love listening to and writing about music as well.

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