The Delta Aquariid meteor shower begins this week, bringing as many as 20 “shooting stars” per hour to the night sky. Here’s why this year’s shower offers ideal conditions for stargazers.
The Delta Aquariid meteor shower will soon light up Earth’s skies. Though it’s not one of the most prolific annual meteor showers, the peak of the Delta Aquariids occurs under ideal conditions this year. It also arrives while a few other meteor showers are underway, including the Perseid meteor shower.
This year, the Delta Aquariids are active between July 18 and Aug. 21 — peaking on the night of July 29-30.
However, this meteor shower has a broad peak. That’s good news for skywatchers, because its maximum rate of “shooting stars” tends to last a few nights on each side of the technical peak date. Its shooting stars also tend to move rather slowly, which makes them easier to see.
Conditions for the peak nights of the Delta Aquariids this year are good. It’s always important to look for meteors only when the Moon has not risen because that’s the only time the sky is dark enough to see them easily. July’s full Moon rises on July 21, well before the shower’s peak.
However if you are in a dark sky area you may be able to see some meteors from this week around midnight though the Moon may impact.
By July 28, the moon will reach its last-quarter phase, which means it will rise after midnight and then continue to rise about 50 minutes later on each successive evening.
That makes the hours before and just after midnight the best time to observe this year’s Delta Aquariids. Aquarius rises just after 8pm AEST on the 28 July.