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Meteor shower · July

Southern Delta Aquariids 2026

A long, steady shower of mostly faint meteors from late July into August, best from southern and tropical skies.

Peak nightJul 28–29
Rate at peakup to ~25/hour
Moon at peak99% · sets 04:42
Best time from London00:15–02:15
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The Southern Delta Aquariids from London

Times for London, United Kingdom

On the night of Jul 28–29, the radiant climbs to 21° in the south while it’s dark in London. A 99%-lit Moon is up through the best hours, and its light will hide the fainter meteors. The best window here is about 00:15–02:15.

  1. 20:46Moon rises, 99% lit
  2. 22:38Radiant rises
  3. 23:56Astronomical darkness begins
  4. 00:15Best window begins (moonlit)
  5. 02:18Dawn twilight begins
  6. 03:14Radiant highest, 22° up
  7. 04:42Moon sets
0°30°60°90°18:0021:0000:0003:0006:00RadiantMoon (99%)
Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Traced backward, their trails meet at the radiant; the higher it is, the more you’ll see.

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.

The radiant is in Aquarius, below the Great Square of Pegasus, highest a couple of hours after midnight. Up to about 25 meteors an hour at the peak under ideal skies (the zenithal hourly rate). The shower is active from about 16 Jul to 17 Aug.

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.

Active
16 Jul – 17 Aug
Peak
around 28 Jul 2026
Rate at peak (ZHR)
~25 per hour
Speed
40 km/s
Parent body
Comet 96P/Machholz
Radiant
Aquarius

Calendar

Every major shower’s peak in 2026. Dates are approximate (±1 day) and given in UTC.

Questions

How do I tell a Delta Aquariid from a Perseid?
Trace the trail backward. Delta Aquariids point back to Aquarius in the south; Perseids point back to Perseus in the northeast.
How many meteors will I really see?
Fewer than the peak rate. The zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) assumes a perfectly dark sky with the radiant straight overhead. With some light pollution, moonlight or a low radiant, a fraction of that is typical.
What is the radiant?
The point in the sky the meteors seem to come from. It’s a perspective effect: the dust travels in parallel paths, like snowflakes seen from a moving car. The higher the radiant, the more meteors you see.
Do I need a telescope or binoculars?
No. Your eyes are best because meteors can appear anywhere in the sky. Optical aid narrows your view far too much.
Know the best hour for your sky.SkyMate can remind you when the radiant is up and the sky is dark where you are.Join the waitlist

Sources: Global Meteor Network (activity and peak solar longitudes, CC BY 4.0); Moorhead, Clements & Vida 2022 (radiants and speeds, CC BY 4.0); NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (typical peak rates; no NASA endorsement implied). Peak dates and positions computed by SkyMate. Data & Licences

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