The Aquariid meteor shower peaks on the nights of Wednesday, July 28 to Thursday, July 29, and Thursday to Friday, July 30.
There are still a few weeks to go until St. Lawrence Night, the evening of the summer’s most popular astronomical spectacle – the peak of the Perseids. But fans of astronomical events won’t have to wait much longer to see shooting stars. On the nights of July 28/29 and 29/30, you can observe the July Aquariids.
The origin of the July Aquariids or Southern Delta Aquariids is an extensive zone of interplanetary matter, the so-called Machholz Complex. It is thought to be the product of a comet that has been disintegrating for thousands of years. What remains is the swarm of floating rocks and the eponymous comet 96P/Machholz.
This swarm is divided into the South Delta Aquarids, whose shower peak is between July 28 and 30, and the North Delta Aquarids, whose shower peak is expected in the second week of August.
But how do these shooting stars form?
On its orbit around the sun, the Earth passes through the dust trail of several comets, which are also captured by the sun’s gravity. This dust consists of chunks of rock that heat up and glow when they come into contact with the Earth’s atmosphere due to friction with the air. This goes so far that they also leave a glowing trail, which is why we call them shooting stars. The two most famous phenomena in summer are the Perseids and the Aquariids.
The best place to observe this spectacle with the naked eye and without instruments should be dimly lit and not obscured by large buildings. The view should be directed towards the constellation Aquarius, where this swarm has its radiant. The best viewing times are after midnight and before dawn – and at hours when the moon is less bright.