Meteor Shower
Delta Aquariids Meteor Shower
Peak rates of about 25 meteors per hour under ideal dark skies. Radiant in Aquarius.
Your local time
30 Jul 2026, 11:30
Universal time
30 Jul 2026, 06:00 UTC
Time since
—
The Delta Aquariids are produced by debris from Comet 96P/Machholz. Meteors appear to radiate from a point at RA 340°, Dec -16°, entering the atmosphere at about 41 km/s. The quoted zenithal hourly rate of 25 assumes a radiant overhead and a perfectly dark sky; real observed rates are usually lower. No equipment is needed — lie back, let your eyes dark-adapt for 20 minutes and watch a wide patch of sky.
Observation details
- Visibility
- Partially visible
- Best viewing time
- 30 Jul 2026, 02:30
- Direction to look
- W · azimuth 277°
- Altitude at peak
- -46.6°
- Equipment
- Naked Eye
- Zenithal hourly rate
- ~25/hr
- Parent
- Comet 96P/Machholz
- Entry velocity
- 41 km/s
The event's peak happens below your horizon, but the same part of the sky reaches 45° later in the night.
New Delhi, India
28.6139°, 77.2090° · default location
Photography & observing tips
- •Give your eyes at least 20 minutes to dark-adapt and avoid white light entirely.
- •Look about 40° away from the radiant rather than straight at it — meteors there leave longer trails.
- •For photography use a fast wide lens at f/2.8 or wider, 15–25 second exposures, and shoot continuously.
Event timeline
Times shown in your local timezone, computed from the event geometry.
Activity ramps up
25 Jul 2026, 11:30 · 25 Jul 2026, 06:00 UTC
Peak
30 Jul 2026, 11:30 · 30 Jul 2026, 06:00 UTC
Activity fades
4 Aug 2026, 11:30 · 4 Aug 2026, 06:00 UTC
Other meteor shower events
The nearest occurrences before and after this one.