Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and Wednesday, Sept. 2, an annual meteor shower comes to its peak. But have you ever heard of it? I haven’t — and I’ve been a stargazer for a couple of decades.
The Alpha Aurigid meteor shower is what skywatchers — at least, those that have heard of it — call “modest.” Active from Aug. 25 through Sept. 5, during the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 2, it may be possible to see around five to 10 meteors per hour under clear, dark skies.
That’s not many — and, in practice, some of those will happen out of your field of view. You’ll probably see one or two at best during an hour outside in the dark.
The Origin Of The Alpha Aurigids
The Alpha Aurigids come from comet C/1911 N1 (Kiess), a long-period comet that enters the inner solar system every 2,490 years. It was last close to the sun in 1911. It’s rarely been an impressive meteor shower, but it did produce around 200 “shooting stars” per hour during an outburst in 2007.
When And Where to Watch
The best time to look up will be in the pre-dawn hours after midnight when the shower’s source constellation — Auriga — climbs high into the northeastern sky. A winter constellation whose bright star Capella will be familiar to skywatchers, Auriga will appear above the east before dawn. However, it’s not as relevant as you may think because “shooting stars” can appear anywhere in the sky — it’s just that they will appear to have come from the direction of Auriga.
Should You Bother?
If you’re keen to see “shooting stars,” just go stargazing on any clear night — you’re bound to see at least one. Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and Wednesday, Sept. 2, you’re marginally more likely; that’s all. So don’t plan a huge observing party or get friends and family out of bed early — it’s not that kind of meteor shower. But if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, where Auriga is highest, and you’re going to be outside doing astronomy in any case, find an open dark area away from bright city lights — and avoid telescopes and binoculars. The naked eye is the only way to see meteors.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.