Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower 2013 Peak: Where and When to Watch

By Todd Richissin

The 2013 Delta Aquarid meteor shower peak is a decidedly good news, bad news event.

First, the bad: The date for this year’s Delta Aquarid’s peak is July 29, when a quarter moon will wash a lot of pre-dawn meteors from view.

The good news: The Delta Aquarids is a long show, extending well into August and overlapping with the viewing dates of more famous Perseids meteor shower 2013 peak, August 11 to August 13.

Already, the Delta Aquarids is active, having officially begun on July 12.

Check out this video of the Delta Aquarids and these Delta Aquarids photos.

Comets, the sun and Earth’s path all play a role in allowing for these great shows. When a comet warms up from the sun, it breaks up a bit, hitting the Earth’s upper atmosphere and vaporizing, which gives that appearance of shooting starts.

Where to look? Meteors will mostly be seen  toward the east, north, west horizons.

The best place to watch is the darkest place possible.

And if you don’t see meteors, hang in there: The Perseids peaks in the pre-dawn hours of August 11, and the moon won’t be around to spoil the show, consistently a top favorite for stargazers.