Everything you need to know about the kappa-cygnids shower on August 17th for shooting stars

After an impressive shower of stars falling from the Perseids, it’s the kappa-Cygnids’ turn to illuminate the sky.

August is appreciated for all lovers astronomy. Several events, easily observable, dot this part of the summer. Among them, in particular, the second meteor shower per month: That of kappa-Cygnids.

A discovery partly due to chance

The discovery of this shower of falling stars is somewhat original. As you know, if you have read our previous articles on the topic of astronomy, the Perseid meteor is active from the end of July to the end of August (with a peak during the night of August 12-12).

It is by observing this event that Hungarian astronomer Miklos Konkoli Thegg He had noticed, somewhat by accident, its existence in 1874. Since this discovery, kappa-cygnids have been observed several times and more is becoming known about their cycle and frequency.

In 1893, in particular, the British astronomer William F. Denning that the rain of falling stars, which seems to come from the star Kappa Signi, has no continuous activity… In other words, we observe a different number of meteors from year to year!

A bunch of meteors per hour

If you’ve enjoyed the Perseid meteor shower, beware: this event will be much smaller. for information, The Kappa-Signid meteor shower is active from 5 to 25 August, with a peak expected during the night of 17 to 18 August.

How many meteorites are expected? Unfortunately few, as it is estimated that there should be no more than Three on average… As usual, to observe the phenomenon, we advise you to go to a place where the light pollution is minimal; This will greatly facilitate seeing these few meteorites!