Activities here on Earth might be a little on the sparse side at present, but we can always rely on the night sky to put on a show. So far this year, there have been plenty of celestial spectaculars to keep us entertained, including supermoons, comets and lunar eclipses. Now, it’s the turn of one of the longest annual meteor showers to streak across the sky each year: the Delta Aquariid.
While it’s possible to spy shooting stars courtesy of this annual event from all over the globe, the Southern Hemisphere gets a particularly good view. The shower has just reached its peak (between July 28 to August 1) with as many as 20 meteors visible per hour. However, avid astronomers will be able to spot these cosmic fireworks in smaller numbers until late August. Better yet, this year, the Delta Aquariid event overlaps with another annual shower, the Alpha Capricornids, so chances of glimpsing multiple shooting stars are especially high.
The best time to see meteors is just before dawn, when the Moon is lowest in the sky. People in the inner city might struggle to see much due to light pollution, so budding meteor spotters should head out of urbanised areas for the best chance of glimpsing the show.