What began as a hunk of frozen gas and space dust orbiting the sun 20,000 years ago will soon appear as a light show in the early morning sky.
Stargazers will be treated to two distinct meteor showers which converge in late summer and will soon make their yearly rendezvous again.
The famous Perseid meteor shower and the lesser-known Delta Aquariids will appear together at the same time—and may even cross paths—with the Delta Aquariids starting from mid-July and the Perseids joining them from August for the rest of the month.
The Delta Aquariids are already upon us and currently in full display. The shower’s nominal (predicted) peak, on July 29, coincides with the new moon, making for dark conditions and ideal meteor sighting. That’s soon—but it’s not too late to catch them, as the Delta Aquariids ramble on for weeks. One can expect to see as many as 20 Delta Aquariid meteors per hour under dark skies with no moonlight during peak period, according to EarthSky….