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• The Delta Aquarid shower is, at best, a modest shower, offering perhaps 15 meteors per hour. About five to ten percent of these relatively faint, medium-speed meteors leave persistent trains - glowing ionized gas trails that last a second or two after the meteor has passed.
• This shower recurs annually in late July, because the Earth crosses the orbital path of Comet 96P/Machholz at this time of year. The stream of debris left behind by this comet smashes into the Earth's upper atmosphere, to burn up in our sky as Delta Aquarid meteors.
• If bright enough, you might see a meteor in the moonlight. Image credit: fraktus
• How high up are meteors when they begin to glow?
• If you trace the paths of the Delta Aquarid meteors backward, they all appear to radiate from a certain point in the starry heavens - near the star Delta Aquarii (Skat). This point is called the radiant of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower. As a rule of thumb, the higher the radiant point is in your sky, the more meteors that you're likely to see. In late July, this star climbs highest up in the sky at roughly 2:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. daylight saving time).
• Skat: Radiant for Delta Aquarid meteors
• But you don't have to find the radiant point of the Delta Aquarid shower to enjoy this annual celestial attraction, for these meteors streak every which way across the starry heavens. Find an open view of the sky away from pesky artificial lights, sprawl out comfortably on a reclining lawn chair, and watch these meteors streak the sky in the dark hours before dawn on Saturday, July 28, and Sunday, July 29.
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