Technologies

2 Meteor Showers Are Peaking on the Same Night in July. How to Catch a Glimpse

The Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids meteor showers will be at their full glory on the same day in July.

Meteor showers happen all year. They happen so often that they overlap for significant percentages of the year. There are two times when three meteor showers will be active in October, for example. But a rarer feat? Having two meteor showers that peak at the same time. It’ll happen later this month, on July 29.

The show will come courtesy of the Alpha Capricornids and Southern delta Aquariids meteor showers. The former began on Saturday and runs through Aug. 12, with a peak of July 29. Southern delta Aquariids will start on July 28, peaks early on July 29, and then runs until Aug. 12 as well. That means for one evening, the two meteor showers are peaking at the same time, giving stargazers a much better chance at catching a shooting star.

Of the two, the Southern delta Aquarids is typically the larger meteor shower, tossing upwards of 25 meteors per hour during its zenith. Alpha Capricornids is a lesser meteor shower, with about five per hour on average. Combined, they’ll output an estimated 30 per hour.

Tips to see two meteor showers at once

Since the meteors are coming from two different points in the sky, you would think spotting meteors from both would be difficult, but that is far from the truth.

Alpha Capricornids, which hails from the 169P/NEAT comet, originates from the Capricornus constellation. It will rise from the eastern skies across the continental US around sunset and streak across the southern sky, setting in the western sky at sunrise.

For the Southern delta Aquariids, its radiant — the point from which its meteors seem to originate — is the Aquarius constellation. Aquarius is right next to Capricornus. That means it also rises out of the eastern horizon, streaks across the southern sky, and sets in the western horizon around dawn.

If you have trouble finding either of them, Stellarium’s free sky map will help you hunt them down. Set the time, date and location, and you’re off to the races. Once you find one, the other one is essentially right there next to it.

Tips on spotting meteor showers

As per the norm, the tips here are the same as they are for the aurora borealis and planet parades. Light pollution and weather are your two biggest enemies. Since you can only do anything about one of those, let’s focus on light pollution. You’ll want to drive as far away from the city and suburbs as possible, as the light pollution will make it difficult to see the dimmer meteors. The further away you are, the better, as even suburban light pollution can obfuscate most meteors.

Once out there, you just have to sit and wait. Since the constellations will move across the south as you watch, you may have to rotate your chair if you’re out there for a while. Otherwise, a pair of binoculars may help. Telescopes aren’t recommended, as they obscure your field of view and may actively obstruct your ability to see meteors.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, March 9

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 9.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Talk ___ (boastfully banter)
Answer: SMACK

6A clue: What has legs, but never walks?
Answer: TABLE

7A clue: French for «love»
Answer: AMOUR

8A clue: What has a mouth, but never talks?
Answer: RIVER

9A clue: Run-down in appearance
Answer: SEEDY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Milky Way bits
Answer: STARS

2D clue: ___ Eisenhower, 1950s first lady
Answer: MAMIE

3D clue: Overhead
Answer: ABOVE

4D clue: Given a crossword hint
Answer: CLUED

5D clue: Actress Washington of «Scandal»
Answer: KERRY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 9, #532

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for March 9, No. 532.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition features a mix of topics. As a Minnesota Vikings fan, the green group came quickly to me. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rocky Mountain High.

Green group hint: Upper Midwest division.

Blue group hint: Speed demons.

Purple group hint: Leading the team.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: A Colorado athlete.

Green group: NFC North cities.

Blue group: Types of racing.

Purple group: Coach ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is a Colorado athlete. The four answers are Bronco, Buffalo, Nugget and Rockie.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFC North cities. The four answers are Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minneapolis.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is types of racing. The four answers are BMX, drag, horse and stock car.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Coach ____. The four answers are Carter, K, Prime and speak.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for March 9, #1724

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for March 9, No. 1,724.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a bit tricky, thanks to some unusual letters. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.