How to watch the Delta Aquariids tonight as meteor shower lights up the skies over Britain
29 July 2024, 12:40
Stargazers are in for a treat on Monday night as the Delta Aquariid meteors sail over the night skies.
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The Delta Aquariid meteor shower runs annually for around six weeks between the middle of July and the end of August.
The meteor shower is set to reach its peak tonight, and is expected to be at its most spectacular from around midnight until around the early hours of Tuesday morning.
They will be best viewed without binoculars or a telescope, according to experts - so you can see a wider stretch of the sky. You should also switch off any outdoor lights.
Conditions are good for stargazing for this year's Delta Aquariid showers, as it is taking place a few days before a full moon.
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A Met Office spokesperson said: "We are expecting clear skies over England and Wales tonight and tomorrow night.
"However there will be varying amounts of cloud over Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of north east England at times."
The Delta Aquariid marks the start of the summer meteor season in the Northern Hemisphere.
The meteors take their name from the Aquarius constellation in the night sky that they seem to shine out, near Delta Aquarii, a particularly bright star Delta Aquarii.
Experts are still not totally sure which comet is responsible for producing the Delta Aquariid meteor shower.
Most recently, scientists identified a comet called Comet 96P/Machholz as the most likely source.
A meteor shower is produced as the Sun heats up small bits of loose rock and dust.
Comet 96P/Machholz gets its name from Donald Machholz, who discovered it in 1986.
It is believed to have an estimated diameter of four miles (6.4 kilometres).
It takes just over five years to complete one orbit around the Sun.
Dr Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: "Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids are two meteor showers that peak on the nights of the 29th and 30th of July respectively.
"The Delta Aquariids has a decent ideal rate of around 25 meteors per hour, while the Alpha Capricornids is a fairly weak shower of around 5 meteors per hour, though light pollution and other viewing conditions will likely reduce the actual observed rate."
