Summer meteor season 2013 begins in moonlight [1]

Earthsky.org, 7/26/13, Deborah Byrd

Two meteor showers converge every year in late July and August. The Delta Aquarid shower rambles along steadily with a nominal peak in late July, but this shower is still going strong when the Perseids peak around the mornings of August 11, 12 and 13. An hour or two before dawn usually presents the most favorable view of the Delta Aquarids and the Perseids, assuming the moon is out of the way. In late July 2013, the rather faint Delta Aquarid meteors will be at least partially drowned in the light of a bright last quarter moon [2] on July 29. Try watching in early August, when the Perseid meteor shower is building to its peak and the light of the waning crescent moon [3] is less obtrusive. Thanks to that waning moon in late July and early August, we’ll have moon-free skies for this year’s Perseid meteor shower.

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