Two major meteor showers will peak at the end of the month and light up night sky over NSW
The Southern Delta Aquariids and the Capricornids will peak days apart from each other - with the former peaking on July 28 and the Capricornids peaking on July 30.
Speaking to TimeOut Sydney, Associate Professor Devika Kamath from Macquarie University's School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences said the best times to view the meteor showers are between midnight and 4am.
'In the early evening, the radiants (the points where meteors appear to originate) rise in the northeast," she said. "By midnight, they're high in the northern sky, and by pre-dawn, they drift toward the northwest. Scanning this arc will maximise your chances of catching long, dramatic trails.'
But Sydneysiders expecting to see this spectacle may want to travel outside the Sydney area to areas like the Blue Mountains or regional areas outside the city.
Last year, a full moon ruined the chance of many Australians to view the Geminid meteor shower before Christmas.
Speaking to SBS News about the Geminid showers last year, professor of astrophysics at the University of Southern Queensland Jonti Horner said viewing meteor showers is often contingent on the light that is available.
'What a full moon does is it puts a lot of natural light pollution up in the sky, and so it hides the meteors," she said.
She also said that artificial light pollution from the cities can also mask the meteors.
Meteors are space rocks that burn up in the atmosphere, most of them originating from a comet or an asteroid field.
Some pass through intact, but others burn up leaving a trail which has been termed as a shooting star.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

9 News
4 hours ago
- 9 News
New breakthrough in quest for HIV vaccine
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here A new type of vaccine could hold the key to finding a cure for HIV, a new study shows. There is currently no cure for HIV, but researchers in the USA believe mRNA can bypass common obstacles in the creation of a vaccine for the disease. HIV impacts nearly 41 million people globally and over 30,000 people in Australia. An mRNA-based vaccine for HIV could help in the fight against the disease. (Supplied) The study, conducted by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Centre in the United States, found antibodies to fight HIV were present in 80 per cent of volunteers. It marks a step in finding a long-term cure to the disease, which is currently treated with antiretroviral therapy. It is still highly prevalent in southern Africa, including Botswana and South Africa. Seth Cheetham, who specialises in mRNA at the University of Queensland, said the vaccine could be a crucial tool in the fight against HIV. "This study marks significant progress in the global effort to develop a safe and effective HIV vaccine that prevents infection," he said. "While drugs for HIV treatment and prevention have transformed the lives of people living with HIV, an effective vaccine is still urgently needed. "[If] the results hold up in larger real-world studies in the community, mRNA vaccines could be a transformative tool in the fight against HIV." health World vaccine HIV Disease USA CONTACT US Auto news: Why Australians are still driving around without insurance.


West Australian
a day ago
- West Australian
World-first study could provide MS breakthrough
A world-first study aims to identify a person's genetic risk of developing multiple sclerosis by using their DNA. The research will investigate why some people develop MS and others don't, even if they are exposed to the same common virus. University of South Australia's David Stacey told AAP the pilot study would involve an innovative approach, called "recall by genotype", which has never been used in MS research. "It's like studying the immune system's blueprint before the disease starts," said Dr Stacey, who leads the study. As the most common acquired chronic neurological disease affecting young adults, MS impacts more than 33,000 Australians. Symptoms can include loss of motor function, loss of sensation, pain, vision changes and changes to thinking and memory. While there is no cure or single known cause for MS, many genetic and environmental factors are believed to contribute to its development. Dr Stacey says the study will select two groups of participants based on whether they have a high or low genetic risk of MS. By comparing the groups, researchers hope to understand how their immune systems respond to the Epstein-Barr virus, a disease that causes glandular fever and has been strongly linked to MS. While most people get infected with Epstein-Barr virus, only a small number develop MS. Researchers believe differences in how a person's immune system reacts to the virus might explain why some people get MS and others don't. "It could also help identify early biological markers that show when MS might be starting to develop. This may lead to earlier detection, new treatments or even prevention," Dr Stacey said. "We want to take learnings from this to help inform a larger, more scaled-up version of this study." The research is funded through MS Australia's latest Incubator Grant round, which supports ideas aimed at opening new directions in MS research. "Our mission is to accelerate research and improve outcomes for every person living with MS," chief executive Rohan Greenland said.


Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
World-first study could provide MS breakthrough
A world-first study aims to identify a person's genetic risk of developing multiple sclerosis by using their DNA. The research will investigate why some people develop MS and others don't, even if they are exposed to the same common virus. University of South Australia's David Stacey told AAP the pilot study would involve an innovative approach, called "recall by genotype", which has never been used in MS research. "It's like studying the immune system's blueprint before the disease starts," said Dr Stacey, who leads the study. As the most common acquired chronic neurological disease affecting young adults, MS impacts more than 33,000 Australians. Symptoms can include loss of motor function, loss of sensation, pain, vision changes and changes to thinking and memory. While there is no cure or single known cause for MS, many genetic and environmental factors are believed to contribute to its development. Dr Stacey says the study will select two groups of participants based on whether they have a high or low genetic risk of MS. By comparing the groups, researchers hope to understand how their immune systems respond to the Epstein-Barr virus, a disease that causes glandular fever and has been strongly linked to MS. While most people get infected with Epstein-Barr virus, only a small number develop MS. Researchers believe differences in how a person's immune system reacts to the virus might explain why some people get MS and others don't. "It could also help identify early biological markers that show when MS might be starting to develop. This may lead to earlier detection, new treatments or even prevention," Dr Stacey said. "We want to take learnings from this to help inform a larger, more scaled-up version of this study." The research is funded through MS Australia's latest Incubator Grant round, which supports ideas aimed at opening new directions in MS research. "Our mission is to accelerate research and improve outcomes for every person living with MS," chief executive Rohan Greenland said.