Get ready for the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower

This one's for all you stargazers - it's time for the first major meteor shower of the summer - the Alpha Capricornids!

The event happens every year, and in 2026 the shower will be active from 3 July until 15 August, peaking on 30 July.

Compared with some other meteor showers, the Alpha Capricornids aren't among the strongest.

However, what they lack in numbers, they definitely make up for in quality.

Keep reading to find out more about the Alpha Capricornids and how best to see them.

Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to come from.

For example, the Alpha Capricornids get their name because the meteors seem to come from the direction of the constellation Capricornus.

The Alpha Capricornids can produce up to around five shooting stars per hour.

However, when they do appear, they are worth the wait, as they often produce long, slow and very bright yellow fireballs.

Some people call meteor showers shooting stars, but they aren't really stars.

Instead they are tiny chunks of rock burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

Meteors or meteoroids are small pieces of space debris or rock that fall towards Earth's atmosphere where they burn up.

As the space rock falls towards Earth the resistance of it makes it extremely hot.

This produces a bright streak of glowing hot air behind it.

So, what we see isn't actually the falling rock - it's the glowing heat around it - racing across the sky.

When Earth encounters many meteoroids at once, we call it a meteor shower.

You don't need any special equipment to view the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower.

Find a clear space away from street lights, or the light coming from your house, as you want to be in the darkest place that you can.

If you're in a big city, the light from the city will likely dazzle too much so you probably won't be able to see the Alpha Capricornids.

Give your eyes enough time to adjust to the dark, around 20 minutes or so.

Don't look at your phone either - as the brightness from it will affect how your eyes have adjusted to the dark.

1. Wrap up warm.

2. Turn off all the lights around you.

3. Be patient - it might take a little while to see something special.

4. You'll need to wait for a bit for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.

5. What else can you see? Write down your observations.

Good luck, meteor spotters.