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*Info courtesy universetoday.com:
Now grab a comfortable seat because the Delta Aquarid meteor shower reaches its peak tonight. It is not considered a prolific shower, and the average fall rate is about 25 per hour - but who wouldn't want to take a chance on observing a meteor about every 4 to 5 minutes? These travellers are considered to be quite slow, with speeds around 24 kilometers per second and are known to leave yellow trails. One of the most endearing qualities of this annual shower is its broad stream of around 20 days before and 20 days after peak. This will allow it to continue for at least another week and overlap the beginning stages of the famous Perseids.
The Delta Aquarid stream is a complicated one, and a mystery not quite yet solved. It is possible that gravitation split the stream from a single comet into two parts, and each may very well be a separate stream. One thing we know for certain is they will seem to eminate from the area around Capricornus and Aquarius, so you will have best luck facing southeast and getting away from city lights. On a personal note, I have observed high activity from the region for the last two weeks, which means we may be passing through a more heavily concentrated portion of the stream. While I cannot guarantee you'll see significant activity, I highly urge you to enjoy a warm summer night and take a chance at "catching a shooting star".
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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