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 Tuesday, Oct. 14
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

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.
Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need 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: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS
5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW
6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE
7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD
8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE
9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS
2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS
3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART
4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES
Technologies
Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 11
Technologies
New California Law Wants Companion Chatbots to Tell Kids to Take Breaks
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the new requirements on AI companions into law on Monday.

AI companion chatbots will have to remind users in California that they’re not human under a new law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The law, SB 243, also requires companion chatbot companies to maintain protocols for identifying and addressing cases in which users express suicidal ideation or self-harm. For users under 18, chatbots will have to provide a notification at least every three hours that reminds users to take a break and that the bot is not human.
It’s one of several bills Newsom has signed in recent weeks dealing with social media, artificial intelligence and other consumer technology issues. Another bill signed Monday, AB 56, requires warning labels on social media platforms, similar to those required for tobacco products. Last week, Newsom signed measures requiring internet browsers to make it easy for people to tell websites they don’t want them to sell their data and banning loud advertisements on streaming platforms.
AI companion chatbots have drawn particular scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators in recent months. The Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into several companies in response to complaints by consumer groups and parents that the bots were harming children’s mental health. OpenAI introduced new parental controls and other guardrails in its popular ChatGPT platform after the company was sued by parents who allege ChatGPT contributed to their teen son’s suicide.
«We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability,» Newsom said in a statement.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
One AI companion developer, Replika, told CNET that it already has protocols to detect self-harm as required by the new law, and that it is working with regulators and others to comply with requirements and protect consumers.
«As one of the pioneers in AI companionship, we recognize our profound responsibility to lead on safety,» Replika’s Minju Song said in an emailed statement. Song said Replika uses content-filtering systems, community guidelines and safety systems that refer users to crisis resources when needed.
Read more: Using AI as a Therapist? Why Professionals Say You Should Think Again
A Character.ai spokesperson said the company «welcomes working with regulators and lawmakers as they develop regulations and legislation for this emerging space, and will comply with laws, including SB 243.» OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice called the bill a «meaningful move forward» for AI safety. «By setting clear guardrails, California is helping shape a more responsible approach to AI development and deployment across the country,» Radice said in an email.
One bill Newsom has yet to sign, AB 1064, would go further by prohibiting developers from making companion chatbots available to children unless the AI companion is «not foreseeably capable of» encouraging harmful activities or engaging in sexually explicit interactions, among other things.
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