Southern Delta Aquariids

When are the Southern Delta Aquariids?

The Southern Delta Aquariids are active from about 17 Jul to 17 Aug each year and peak around 28 Jul. Up to about 25 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). For local times, the Moon and the best hours from your place, open the page for the year.

• Southern Delta Aquariids 2026Active 16 Jul – 17 AugPeak ~28 Jul
• Southern Delta Aquariids 2027Active 17 Jul – 17 AugPeak ~28 Jul

How to watch

Watch from about midnight until dawn, when the radiant is highest. From mid-northern latitudes the radiant stays low in the south. The shower overlaps with the early Perseids and the Alpha Capricornids, so not every meteor you see will be a Delta Aquariid.

Get as far from streetlights as you can and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the dark. Every glance at a bright phone screen resets that, so keep it away or use a red night mode.

Lie back on a reclining chair or a mat and take in as much sky as possible, looking about halfway up rather than straight at the radiant. Meteors can appear anywhere; the ones far from the radiant have longer trails.

You need no equipment. Binoculars and telescopes show only a tiny patch of sky, so they make you miss meteors. Dress warmly, even in summer, and plan to watch for at least an hour: meteors come in clumps and lulls.

Where do they come from?

The likely parent is Comet 96P/Machholz, a short-period comet whose debris has spread into a broad complex of related streams.

Mostly faint, medium-speed meteors; a dark site makes a big difference.