TUCSON, AZ – If you’ve been craving meteor showers since spring, you’ll be rewarded right away when the sprawling Delta Aquariid meteor shower begins on Monday. The peak isn’t for a couple of weeks, but don’t be surprised if you see a few falling stars over Tucson beforehand.
The forecast for southern Arizona should be good for stargazing, with partly cloudy skies on Monday and Tuesday nights, the National Weather Service forecast.
One way to see the Delta Aquariids, which produce between 10 and 20 meteors per hour on July 29th, is as a dress rehearsal for the most important shooting star event of the summer, the prolific Perseid meteor shower.
The Delta Aquariids reliably produce meteors for a few days on either side of the peak date and will continue to fire until August 23, intersecting with the Perseids, often considered to be the best meteor shower of the year – despite the Geminid meteor shower December is something special in itself.
However, the 2021 Delta Aquariids could be a disappointment. Harsh light from a waning domed moon is likely to wash away large numbers of the meteors, which Earthsky.org says are initially faint because of the shower favors the southern hemisphere.
To see the Delta Aquariids, regardless of where you live, it’s best to go outside between midnight and dawn.
This bright moon will fade in the first week of August. The Perseid meteor shower, which takes place from July 17th to August. 24, will be in full swing by this point, and viewing conditions should be ideal for the August 11-12 summit.
So is the shooting star a Delta Aquariid or a Perseid?
The alternate answer is that a falling star is a beautiful thing either way, but if you really want to tell a Delta Aquarius from a Perseid meteor, the short answer is that the former appears to be flying from the south and the Perseids from the North-northeast.
NASA meteorological expert Bill Cooke told Space.com that 2021 would be a stellar year for the Perseids, known for their bright, enduring trains. When the sky is clear, sky watchers can see about 100 falling stars an hour, Cooke said, although he stated that under more typical conditions, people should be able to see a meteor every minute.
“The Perseids are rich in fireballs, so they will be bright,” said Cooke.
Cooke, who heads the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said observing meteor showers requires an investment in time and preparation. Some pointers:
- Get as far away from the city lights as you can.
- Give your eyes about 30-45 minutes to get used to the darkness.
- Take in as much of the sky as you can; Take a deck chair or blanket with you and lie flat on your back.
- It can be helpful to find the shining point (for the Perseids this is the prominent constellation of Perseus; for the Delta Aquarius, it is the constellation Aquarius the Water Carrier). But avoid staring directly at it. The longer stripes are visible farther from the beam spot.
Also, Cooke told Space.com to drop the phone.
“The bright screen can thwart your plans when it comes to adjusting your night vision,” he said. “My suggestion to my friends who want to watch meteors is to leave your phone inside.”
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