Southern Delta Aquarids

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section deals primarily with the Northern Hemisphere and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

The Southern Delta Aquarids are a meteor shower visible from mid July to mid August each year with peak activity on July 28 or 29 July. The parent body for this shower is unknown. Periodic Comet 96P/Machholz 2 (1994o) is the leading candidate[1] but suffered a catastrophic breakup as discovered in 1994.[2]

The Delta Aquarids get their name because their radiant appears to lie in the constellation Aquarius, near one of the constellation's brightest stars, Delta Aquarii. There are two branches of the Delta Aquarid meteor shower, Southern and Northern. The Southern Delta Aquarids are considered a strong shower, with an average meteor observation rate of 15-20 per hour, and a possible peak of 60. The average radiant is at RA=339°, DEC=-17°. The Northern Delta Aquarids are a weaker shower, peaking later in mid August, with an average peak rate of 10 meteors per hour and an average radiant of RA=340°, DEC=-2°.

The Delta Aquarids are best viewed in the pre-dawn hours away from the glow of city lights. Southern Hemisphere viewers usually get a better show because the radiant is higher in the sky during the peak season. Since the radiant is above the southern horizon for Northern Hemisphere viewers, meteors will primarily be fanning out through all compass points from east to north to west. Few meteors will be seen heading southward, unless they are fairly short and near the radiant.

Detailed observing information and history are at Delta Aquarids