Southern Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower: When to Watch and How to Tell Its Difference From Perseid Meteoroid

Delta Aquariid's peak is coming this week, and skywatchers can watch most meteors between July 28 and July 30. If in case, you miss any of these dates, you can still watch it until August 21.

When to Watch Delta Aquariid

According to Earth Sky, the Delta Aquariid's nominal predicted peak is on July 29. The website advises taking advantage of the moon-free mornings in late July and early August. Take note that the new moon falls at 17:55 UTC on July 28 and the full moon will fall at 1:36 UTC on Aug. 12.

The radiant rises in the mid-evening, where the highest is around 2 a.m. and low in the sky by day. The expected meteors at peak under ideal conditions for the Delta Aquariids are 20 meteors per hour at the maximum rate in dark skies with no moon.

How Can You Tell Delta Aquarids and Perseid Meteors Apart?

The Delta Aquarids are thought of as the warm-up of the Perseid meteor shower. At this time of year, both Perseid and Delta Aquariid meteors can be seen in the skies. To easily differentiate the two types, using the concept of radiant point is valuable. When traced backward, the Delta Aquariid radiates from a certain point in front of the Aquarius constellation. It arcs across the southern sky when it is viewed from the northern hemisphere.

On the other hand, as viewed in the skies of the northern hemisphere between midnight and dawn, the Perseids radiate from the constellation Perseus in the northeast to high in the north.

Therefore, if you are viewing the Perseids and you see meteors coming from the northeast or north, they are Perseids, presuming you are in the northern hemisphere and observing about midnight or after. The Delta Aquariids are what you see if they are approaching from the south. If you have a dark sky, you could even see them cross paths.

Delta Aquariid Meteor Origin

The 96P/Machholz Complex is the Delta Aquariid meteor shower's parent comet. Eight meteor showers, including the Delta Aquariids, two comet groups (Marsden and Kracht), and at least one asteroid make up the 96P/Machholz Complex (2003 EH1).

Even though their orbits around the sun have since diverged, it appears that these meteor showers and these comets share a common origin. They are all connected to the comet 96P/Machholz, which was first seen from California's Loma Prieta Mountain on May 12, 1986. The comet was magnitude 10 and two degrees south of the Andromeda galaxy at the time of detection. The 96P/Machholz Complex was first hypothesized to exist in 2003, and as further research was done, it was completely defined in 2005.

Every 5.3 years, comet 96P/Machholz completes an orbit around the sun and approaches it eight times closer than Earth. The distance to its perihelion is 0.12 astronomical units (AU). The separation between the Earth and the sun is one AU. Therefore, this comet is firmly within the orbit of Mercury.

A recent analysis posted by Elsevier reveals that the debris responsible for the Delta Aquariid meteor shower exited the nucleus of the comet around 20,000 years ago.

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