Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Delta and Capricornid Meteors Peak July 30-31, Moon Obscures Streaks

7/27/2026

23 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids will peak on July 30-31, producing 25 meteors per hour from the Delta Aquariids and five per hour bright fireballs from the Capricornids.
The moon will be 98% full, hiding many faint streaks.
Best viewing is midnight to dawn in the southern U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.
Observers should block the moon with a building, tree or hill and look at darkest sky.

History

Historical Context

In November 1833 the Leonid meteor storm lit the United States, with observers reporting peak rates above 100,000 meteors per hour. Astronomer Denison Olmsted later documented the event, linking it to debris from comet Tempel-Tuttle, whose 33-year orbit produced storms recorded in 1767, 1799 and later. Today the International Meteor Organization coordinates global citizen-science observations of similar showers.

1 of 2

Story summary

Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids will peak on July 30-31, producing 25 meteors per hour from the Delta Aquariids and five per hour bright fireballs from the Capricornids.
The moon will be 98% full, hiding many faint streaks.
Best viewing is midnight to dawn in the southern U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.
Observers should block the moon with a building, tree or hill and look at darkest sky.

1 / 2