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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Summer meteor showers underway: When, where to see Perseids, 2 others in US
If it feels like it's been a while since you've been able to watch a stunning meteor shower light up the night sky, you're in luck. Following nearly a two-month "shooting stars" drought, three meteor showers are set to become active concurrently in July. The celestial activity will then hit a crescendo in August with the peak of what is widely considered the best meteor shower of the year: the Perseids. With its whizzing meteors and blazing fireballs, the Perseid meteor shower reliably puts on a spectacle every year for stargazers around the world. Spectators who step outside at just the right time could be treated to up to 100 Perseid meteors per hour streaking across the night sky, leaving long wakes of light and color behind them. But what's the best part of the Perseids? Because they peak in summer, spectators don't have to contend with cold weather like they do when other famous meteor showers such as the Leonids and Geminids hit their peak activity. Stargazers' delight: When and where to view July's major meteor showers. Here's everything to know about the summer's upcoming meteor showers, headlined by the spectacular Perseids. Perseid meteor shower underway: Where, when to look up In 2025, the Perseid meteor shower is expected to become active Thursday, July 17 and remain so until Aug. 23, according to the American Meteor Society. The Perseids are best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere. Once the sun sets and the moon is below the horizon, spectators should only have to contend with local light pollution and clouds that could interfere with the number of meteors they can see. Like all meteor showers, the Perseids are best viewed during the dark hours between midnight and dawn. However, it is possible under the right conditions to view Perseid meteors as early as 10 p.m. ET, according to NASA. When is the next meteor shower? 2 to peak at same time What's more, the Perseids aren't the only meteor shower lighting up the night sky this summer. Both the Southern delta Aquarids and the alpha Capricornids are due to peak at the same time between July 29 and July 30, according to the American Meteor Society. The Capricornids began their activity July 12 and will be followed by the Southern delta Aquarids (also spelled "Aquariids") Friday, July 18. Both meteor showers will remain active until Aug. 12. Unfortunately, neither shower is famed for being very strong. The Southern Delta Aquarids are faint meteors that are difficult enough to spot as it is. But if the moon is visible at all, it will be near impossible, according to NASA. When was the last meteor shower? ETA Aquarids ended in May The string of summer meteor showers are the first in nearly two months since the ETA Aquarids came to an end May 28. The Aquarids, which first became active April 19, peaked between May 5 and May 6 as Earth passed through the densest part of the cosmic debris from the famous Halley's comet. Perseid meteor shower 2025: Here's when activity peaks This year, the Perseids are expected to peak Aug. 12-13. Though the Geminids in December are considered to be one of the strongest and most consistent meteor showers, the Perseids still result in anywhere from 50 to 100 meteors visible per hour under the right conditions. What's more, the Perseid meteor shower gained its reputation for the plentiful whizzing meteors and blazing fireballs it reliably produces each year pretty much around the globe. These large explosions of light and color can persist even longer than an average meteor streak, NASA says. Could the moon interfere with Perseids? Tips for seeing streaking meteors Unfortunately, the Perseid meteor shower is peaking three days after a full moon in 2025. For that reason, a bright waning gibbous moon could outshine the fainter of the streaking meteors and make them more difficult to spot. But for those determined to catch a few of them, NASA has these viewing tips to increase your odds: Find an area distant from city light pollution or street lights. Bring a sleeping bag, blanket, or lawn chair. Lie flat on your back and look up, taking in as much of the sky as possible. After about 30 minutes in the dark, your eyes will adapt and you will begin to see meteors. The website TimeandDate also provides detailed information about where and when to see the phenomenon. What causes the Perseids? Are meteor showers 'shooting stars?' Originating from the constellation Perseus, the Perseids are made up of leftover particles from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. Every year, Earth passes through the comet's debris trail, resulting in the Perseid meteor shower when the broken bits of Swift-Tuttle disintegrates in our atmosphere at high speed – creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky known colloquially as "shooting stars," according to NASA. Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 Earth years just to orbit the sun a single time, was discovered to be the source of the Perseids in 1865 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. Discovered in 1862, Swift-Tuttle is absolutely gargantuan – twice the size of the asteroid theorized to have wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Perseid meteor shower tops slate of summer 'shooting stars' Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Record
14-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
Scientists find ice comet older than the Sun that may be visible from Earth this year
Possibly the oldest comet ever seen has been discovered by scientists who believe the ancient rock may predate the Sun. First spotted last week, comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known object from beyond our solar system, and it is the first ever to travel to us from a completely different region of the Milky Way. And what's more, it may be visible from Earth later this year. The object, which is thought to be rich in ice, was first spotted on July 1, by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile, when it was about 670 million km from the Sun. Oxford University astronomer Matthew Hopkins presented the exciting findings at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham last week. His team discovered the comet by complete surprise, just before the astronomer was due to go on holiday. But instead of the 'quiet Wednesday' he had planned, him and his fellow researchers found what may be the oldest space object ever discovered. "All non-interstellar comets such as Halley's comet formed with our solar system, so are up to 4.5 billion years old," Hopkins said. Halley's Comet is a famous periodic comet that orbits the Sun and is visible from Earth approximately every 75-76 years. It was last seen in 1986 and is predicted to return in mid-2061, and is named after its discoverer Edmond Halley. While Halley's comet is as old as our solar system, Hopkins believes 3I/ATLAS may be almost twice as ancient at seven billion years old. The astronomer continued: "Interstellar visitors have the potential to be far older, and of those known about so far our statistical method suggests that 3I/ATLAS is very likely to be the oldest comet we have ever seen." Two objects from elsewhere in the cosmos have been discovered previously, but 3I/ATLAS is estimated to be far older and larger. It is travelling on a steep path through the galaxy, and based on its trajectory, scientists believe it came from an area of the Milky Way called the 'thick disk'. The thick disk, found in many spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way, is a population of ancient stars which orbit either above or below the thin plane where the Sun and most other stars live. This recently discovered comet is estimated to be rich in water ice due to the fact it was formed around an old, thick-disk star. As the space object nears the Sun it will heat up, triggering vapour and dust that will give it a glowing tail as it shoots through space. Experts say that the ice comet may be visible through a standard telescope later this year, or in early 2026, so keen amateur astronomers should keep an eye out. "This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before," said Professor Chris Lintott, co-author of the study and presenter of the BBC's The Sky at Night. "We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the solar system, and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since." The team's findings come from applying a model developed during Hopkins' doctoral research, which simulates the properties of interstellar objects based on their orbits and likely stellar origins. This research model, dubbed the Ōtautahi-Oxford Model, marks the first real-time application of predictive modelling to an interstellar comet.
NDTV
12-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
This New Interstellar Object Could Possibly Be The Oldest Comet Ever Seen
A mysterious object, first observed hurtling across the solar system on July 1, has now been identified as "very likely to be the oldest comet ever." The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS could be around 7 billion years old - 3 billion years older than our solar system, according to the University of Oxford researchers. The hyperbolic course of 3I/ATLAS, compared to other comets that originated in the solar system, proves it is not from our solar vicinity. Astronomer Matthew Hopkins of the University of Oxford stated that "all non-interstellar comets, such as Halley's comet, formed at the same time as the solar system, so they are up to 4.5 billion years old." But this potentially "water ice-rich" visitor could be much older, and their statistical approach indicates that "3I/ATLAS is very likely to be the oldest comet we have ever seen" out of those that are now known, per 3I/ATLAS was initially observed by the Atlas survey telescope in Chile on July 1 at a distance of roughly 670 million kilometres from the Sun. It is approximately the distance between Earth and Jupiter and can only be seen at this time with very large telescopes, the BBC reported. This is the third known visitor from space, after 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and the comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. However, 3I/ATLAS appears to have retained a large amount of its volatile material, such as dust and ice, compared to its predecessors, allowing scientists to see its coma and tail more vividly. The secret behind 3I/ATLAS's advanced age is that it comes from a totally different region of the Milky Way than earlier interstellar visitors. The object was most likely generated in the Milky Way's "thick disk," an area of old stars that circles both above and below the thin plane where most stars are found, given its extremely steep trajectory. "This is an object from a part of the galaxy we have never seen up close before," Chris Lintott, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford, said. Since then, the comet has been floating across interstellar space, with a "two-thirds chance this comet is older than the solar system," he added.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mystery discovery in space is most likely the 'oldest comet ever seen', say researchers
A mystery interstellar object discovered by British astronomers is most likely the oldest comet ever seen. The "water ice-rich" visitor, which has been given the name 3I/ATLAS, is the first object to reach us from a completely different region of our galaxy, researchers have said. Just two other objects have entered our solar system from elsewhere. Unlike its predecessors, 3I/ATLAS seems to be travelling on a steep path that suggests it came from the Milky Way's "thick disk", an area of ancient stars that orbits above and below the thin plane where most stars reside. University of Oxford astronomer Matthew Hopkins explained: "All non-interstellar comets such as Halley's Comet formed with our solar system, so are up to 4.5 billion years old. "But interstellar visitors have the potential to be far older, and of those known about so far our statistical method suggests that 3I/ATLAS is very likely to be the oldest comet we have ever seen." 3I/ATLAS could be about three billion years older than our solar system. It was first spotted on 1 July 2025 by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile, when it was roughly 670 million kilometres from the sun. Earth is 149 million km away from the sun. Professor Chris Lintott, the co-author of the study, said: "This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before. "We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the solar system, and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since." Read more from Sky News: As 3I/ATLAS gets closer to the sun, sunlight will heat its surface and trigger the outgassing of vapour dust that creates a comet's glowing tail. Members of the public could be able to catch a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS in the coming months, as researchers say it should be visible through reasonably-sized amateur telescopes in late 2025 and early 2026.
India Today
11-07-2025
- Science
- India Today
Interstellar object infiltrating Solar System could be oldest comet seen by humans
A newly discovered interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, is captivating astronomers worldwide as evidence mounts that there is more to it than meets the analysis points to evidence suggesting it may be the oldest comet ever observed by on July 1, 2025, by the ATLAS survey telescope, this cosmic visitor is believed to be around 7 billion years old—making it approximately 3 billion years older than our own 4.5 billion-year-old solar A RARE INTERSTELLAR VISITOR3I/ATLAS is only the third object ever seen entering our solar system from beyond its boundaries, following the discoveries of 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in comets such as Halley's, which formed alongside the solar system, interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are thought to have originated in distant and ancient regions of the IN THE MILKY WAY'S THICK DISKA team led by University of Oxford astronomer Matthew Hopkins theorises that 3I/ATLAS comes from the Milky Way's 'thick disk'—a region populated by some of the galaxy's oldest stars. The discovery has invigorated the astronomical community. (Photo: Nasa) Its steep trajectory through the galaxy supports this hypothesis. 'This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before,' said Oxford astrophysicist Chris Lintott, emphasizing the uniqueness of this ICE AND COMETARY ACTIVITYAs 3I/ATLAS approaches the sun, astronomers expect its frozen ices to sublimate, releasing gas and forming a glowing coma and tail—the signature features of a observations already show the comet bursting to life with activity, and it appears larger than its interstellar telescopes, including the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, are now turning their gaze to 3I/ATLAS. Scientists predict that Rubin's upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time could uncover dozens more interstellar objects, with some potentially rivalling 3I/ATLAS in size and discovery has invigorated the astronomical community and promises to deepen our understanding of the galaxy's most ancient building origins of 3I/ATLAS were investigated using the Otautahi–Oxford Model, developed by Hopkins as part of his doctoral discovery provided a real-time opportunity to test this new model on an object of unprecedented age and origin, marking a milestone in the study of interstellar visitors.- EndsMust Watch
