Basic astronomy and night sky information
The Taurid meteor shower runs from early October through late November each year and peaks in the early morning of November 12. This year, in 2015, that’s just a day after new Moon, which means the sky will be at its darkest for this event. Because they are active over Halloween, and they displayed an impressive outburst about 10 years ago at the end of October, the Taurids are sometimes called the Halloween Fireballs [Read more…] about The Halloween Fireballs
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The usually reliable Orionid meteor shower runs from October 17-25, 2015, and peaks in the early morning of October 21. The first-quarter Moon will set after midnight at the peak of the shower year, so it will be a great year to see the Orionids, which at their peak, can display as many as 30 meteors per hour [Read more…] about Orionid Meteor Shower 2015
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The Perseid meteor shower, the most reliably active meteor shower of the year, peaks on the night of August 11-12, 2015. The Perseids are a favorite of many stargazers. They happen in the northern summer, which makes for comfortable viewing. They display more bright meteors than most showers, usually about 50-60 per hour. And this year, the nearly-new Moon will not get in this way of the Perseids, so 2015 will be an excellent year to see this meteor shower [Read more…] about A Good Year for the Perseid Meteor Shower
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The Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks this year around July 28. This annual event favors observers in the southern hemisphere and southerly latitudes in the northern hemisphere, though all observers can see some of these slow-moving meteors. The meteors of the Delta Aquariids appear to radiate from a point near the star Skat (δ Aquarii) in the constellation Aquarius. The shower peaks around July 27-30, but unlike most meteor showers, the Delta Aquarids lack a sharp peak so meteors are visible from mid-July through early August. The maximum hourly rate can reach 15-20 meteors in a dark sky. Because of their angle of entry into the atmosphere, the Delta Aquariids tend to leave long lingering trails which sets them apart from most other meteors.
It’s still a bit of a mystery as to what causes the Delta Aquariids. Some astronomers suspect the event happens when the Earth passes through a stream of debris left by the periodic Comet 96/P Macholtz. The comet was only discovered in 1986, though the meteor shower has been observed since at least the 1870s.
In late July 2015, near the time of the shower’s peak, a waxing gibbous moon will be out until after midnight. So the skies will be darkest and most favorable for seeing meteors a few hours before dawn as the shower peaks on July 27-30.
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