NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO)
The NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is the NASA organization responsible for meteoroid environments pertaining to spacecraft engineering and operations.
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Watch the Summer Skies! 2014 Delta Aquarids Peak on July 29-30
Editor's note: this event is closed, and the Ustream feed is completed. You can still see Delta Aquarid meteors for the next few nights, but the rates will be very reduced. Happy skywatching!
On the night of July 29-30, a favorable new moon will help darken the skies for the 2014 Delta Aquarid meteor shower (the Southern Delta Aquarids). Although this is considered a minor meteor shower with projected peak rates at 15-20 meteors/hour, the darker skies will help even faint meteors shine more brightly.
Most of the world can see the Delta Aquarids, with best viewing in the southern hemisphere and northern hemisphere tropics. With clear, dark skies away from city lights, you can see meteors any time after full dark, with peak viewing times in the two hours before dawn (your local time).
Image: Delta Aquarids over Wyoming in 2008. Copyright Jeff Berkes, used with permission, all rights reserved.
More About the Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower
The Delta Aquarids (Southern Delta Aquarids) are a meteor shower that occurs each year from mid-July to mid-August. The shower results when Earth passes through the debris fields left by two sungrazing comets, Marsden and Kracht, that broke apart in space. The meteor shower gets its name because the radiant appears to originate near Delta Aquarii, one of the brightest stars in the constellation Aquarius.