Southern Delta Aquariids peaked last night — here's how to watch
Peaks July 31 · up to ~25 meteors/hour in dark skies
A steady southern-sky shower with a broad, gentle peak. The Southern Delta Aquariids peak this year falls on July 31, radiating from Aquarius. A bright Moon (96% lit) will hide all but the brightest meteors this year. You don't need equipment — find dark skies, let your eyes adjust for 20 minutes, and look up after 11pm local time.
What causes a meteor shower?
Comets (and a few asteroids) shed streams of dust along their orbits. When Earth crosses one of those streams — the same dates every year — the particles hit our atmosphere in parallel, appearing to radiate from one point in the sky. Each visible meteor is typically a fragment the size of a sand grain, vaporizing 80–100 km overhead.
How to actually see meteors
No telescope — your eyes have the widest field of view. Get away from city lights, give your eyes 20–30 minutes to dark-adapt (no phone screens), lie back, and watch as much sky as possible. Rates are almost always best after midnight, when your side of Earth faces into the stream. The quoted ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) is a perfect-conditions ceiling; expect to see a third to half of it under a good dark sky, less with moonlight.
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