Morning and evening observers can catch shooting stars associated with both the Southern Delta Aquariids’ peak and the ramp-up of the upcoming Perseid meteor shower.
The Southern Delta Aquariids peak on the last day of the month. Although Neptune lies near Saturn, it is not shown here because it is not visible to the naked eye. Credit: Astronomy: Roen Kelly
- The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks with a zenithal hourly rate of approximately twelve meteors, exhibiting medium-fast speeds (40 km/s).
- The radiant point is located near Skat (magnitude 3.3) in Aquarius, with optimal viewing approximately 40-60° away from this star.
- The shower’s peak coincides with the early stages of the Perseid meteor shower, potentially resulting in the observation of both Southern Delta Aquariids and stray Perseids from different sky regions.
- Favorable viewing conditions exist due to the waxing crescent moon’s minimal interference with observations.
The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks this morning with no moonlight to interfere with your view of shower meteors.
These meteors appear to radiate from a point in the sky to the lower right of the star Skat (magnitude 3.3) in Aquarius as the constellation sets in the early-morning sky. An hour before sunrise, the radiant is 25° high in the southwestern sky.
You can expect to see around a dozen shower meteors per hour. Your best chance for the most impressive sights will be to look some 40° to 60° away from Skat, to either side of this star. The Southern Delta Aquariids are medium-fast meteors, streaking through the sky at around 25 miles (40 kilometers) per second. They likely originate from Comet 96P/Machholz 1, which loops around the Sun every 5.3 years.
The peak of the Southern Delta Aquariids overlaps with the ramp-up period for next month’s meteor shower, the Perseids, which peak August 12. So, although most of the meteors you’ll see this morning will be Southern Delta Aquariids, you might also catch some stray Perseids, which will originate in the northeast. That’s a very different direction — see if you can identify which shower the shooting stars you see belong to!
Night owls might still be able to catch the tail end of the shower’s peak as well. The radiant rises around 9:30 P.M. local daylight time and reaches some 20° high in the southeast by local midnight.
Sunrise: 5:58 A.M.
Sunset: 8:15 P.M.
Moonrise: 1:01 P.M.
Moonset: 11:28 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (42%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
