Meteor Shower
Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower
Peak rates of about 25 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Radiant in Aquarius.
Your local time
30 Jul 2026, 08:35
Universal time
30 Jul 2026, 03:05 UTC
Time since
—
The Delta Aquariids are produced by debris from Comet 96P/Machholz. Meteors appear to radiate from a point at RA 340°, Dec -16°, entering the atmosphere at about 41 km/s. The quoted zenithal hourly rate of 25 assumes a radiant overhead and a perfectly dark sky; real observed rates are usually lower. No equipment is needed — lie back, let your eyes dark-adapt for 20 minutes and watch a wide patch of sky.
Observation details
- Visibility
- Partially visible
- Best viewing time
- 30 Jul 2026, 02:35
- Direction to look
- WSW · azimuth 257°
- Altitude at peak
- -8.2°
- Equipment
- Naked Eye
- Zenithal hourly rate
- ~25/hr
- Parent
- Comet 96P/Machholz
- Entry velocity
- 41 km/s
- Solar longitude at peak
- 127.00°
The event's peak happens below your horizon, but the same part of the sky reaches 45° later in the night.
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Photography & observing tips
- •Give your eyes at least 20 minutes to dark-adapt and avoid white light entirely.
- •Look about 40° away from the radiant rather than straight at it — meteors there leave longer trails.
- •For photography use a fast wide lens at f/2.8 or wider, 15–25 second exposures, and shoot continuously.
Event timeline
Times shown in your local timezone, computed from the event geometry.
Activity ramps up
25 Jul 2026, 08:35 · 25 Jul 2026, 03:05 UTC
Peak
30 Jul 2026, 08:35 · 30 Jul 2026, 03:05 UTC
Activity fades
4 Aug 2026, 08:35 · 4 Aug 2026, 03:05 UTC
Other meteor shower events
The nearest occurrences before and after this one.