Delta Aquariid Meteors

The Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks early in the morning of July 29 and 30. This isn’t a big meteor shower with only about 15 per hour, but sometimes there are 25 per hour.

Especially because it occurs early in the morning after the rain clouds dissipate. The best viewing is from 2 a.m. until dawn lights the sky. Since the new moon is on July 28, this will be a great time to look for it.

This occurs at the end of July each year as Earth crosses the path of Comet Machholz. The debris left by this comet smashes into Earth’s upper atmosphere and burns up as the Delta Aquariid meteors.

They seem to radiate from the Delta Aquarii star, hence, the name, but appear to be streaking in many directions across the sky. To find them, look in the southern sky for the Great Square of Pegasus, Delta Aquarii sits below it close to the horizon. It is the highest at about 3:30 a.m. So, if you get up during the night, have a look.

Then on July 24 you will be able to see many planets before dawn. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are in a long line before Sunrise. On July 25, after sun sets, look for Mercury. It will set about 40 minutes later. They will all be in the ESE.

Of course, the Perseid Meteor Shower is peaking toward the end of this month and will last heavily for at least two weeks. You can watch it late in the evening and early morning. They peak on Aug. 12 and are good to watch from July 29 for the next three weeks.

Did you see the James Web telescope Pictures on TV? They were amazing and a lot of TV shows showed them on TV. It is currently about a million miles from Earth. It is going to orbit the Sun as it takes pictures. They are amazing and it is going to continue to file pictures of everything out there.