Stargazers, it’s your time to shine.
Each year, the second half of the summer season offers some of the best opportunities to see shooting stars and even fireballs, as two successive meteor showers—the Delta Aquariids and the Perseids—converge to adorn our skies
The Delta Aquariids fly from about July 18 to August 21, reaching a maximum rate of 20 meteors per hour during their nighttime peak around 2 a.m., according to the website EarthSky.org. This meteor shower may be weaker than the Perseids that follow, favoring dark nights and viewing locations in the southern United States. However, because they converge with the more visible Perseids, they will help increase stargazers’ chances of seeing meteors during peak nights in late July and early August.
Peaking a few weeks after the Delta Aquarids, the beloved and well-known Perseid meteor shower lights up our skies until September 1st. While the peak of the Perseids is technically August 11-13, those dates coincide with this year’s full moon, meaning some of the meteor shower’s brightness will be obscured by the moon for these nights
For this reason, it is recommended that the best time to see the Perseids is a few weeks before the actual peak: from late afternoon to dawn in early August, when the moon is absent or just a slit.
In years with perfect viewing conditions, meaning a truly dark, cloudless sky with no moon, Perseid watchers can report 90 or more meteors per hour.
While that may not be the case this year, you’ll definitely still see some magic if you take the time to look up at the sky these remaining summer nights.
Learn more about the night sky at earthsky.org.
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