Catch flaming space dust in a light bucket

The Delta Aquarids are not a particularly energetic meteor shower, and we are not planning an official event. However, there may well be more Delta Aquarids to see than Perseids since the Perseid shower this year falls very close to a full moon.

Above is what you might see if all the meteors appeared at once (they won't!)

Meteors will appear to stream out of the constellation Aquarius which rises in the East/SouthEast at 10:30 PM. Local time. Meteors can appear ANYWHERE in the sky. The best time to see meteors is generally from midnight until sunrise when the leading edge of the earth is running into the debris stream. From sunset to midnight we are on the part of the earth facing away from the action - sort of like looking through the rear window of your car and counting the bugs that splat into it! After midnight we begin to face the direction that we are travelling in our path around the sun. At dawn we are facing in exactly the direction the earth is travelling.

If you have to decide whether to get up early TUESDAY morning or stay up late MONDAY night, we recommend getting up 2 hours before sunrise on TUESDAY.

If you'd like to try to take photos of the meteor shower, please see here for tips:

• Photographing Meteors (http://starcircleacademy.com/2010/11/meteors)
• Is it really a Meteor? (http://starcircleacademy.com/2012/09/little-streakers/) (Don't leap to the conclusion that you got a meteor - you probably didn't!)

This is what it might look like if you track the sky using an Equatorial mount and turn it into a timelapse movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTpDV5ZH3tQ