Meteors, Mars and the Moon: What to look for in the night sky this week!

We finally expect a drier and more comfortable weather this week and just in time for some big astronomical events!

Delta Aquariids Peak: The end of July is the nominal peak of the meteor shower of Delta Aquariid and this year there is good news and bad news.

The bad news is that the peak arrives at the same time as the full moon of July; the extra moonlight makes it harder to spot the meteors in the sky. The good news is that the skies will be mostly clear from Tuesday evening to Thursday night with only a slight rise in clouds this weekend. Between the moon and the beautiful sky, you can still catch some meteors this week if you look hard enough!

The moon rises early in the evening this week, so your best chance of escaping its glow is to rather try to wake up and catch a few meteors in the hours before the night. dawn – closer to 4 am-5am. If you are more a night owl than an early bird, then look at the meteors as you normally would: choose a place away from the lights of the city, approach midnight and give yourself an hour or more to watch the meteors. At its peak, Delta aquariums produce 10-20 meteors per hour. With the bright moon however, do not be discouraged if it is hard to see.

For sky observers who have their hearts set on a meteor shower, it might be worthwhile to wait until the moon recedes. The delta aquariums will continue to cross the first two weeks of August and there will be no significant drop in meteor numbers after the peak. The longer you wait, the smaller the moon will be; the next new moon lands on August 11th.

No meteors, no problem!

If you do not get to spot meteors, there are still some good times around this week! The moon will be full on Friday night, marking the 'Buck Moon'. of July more the oppositions of Mars occur the same night. The opposition occurs when the sun, the Earth and Mars align with the Earth in the middle. When opposition occurs, Mars is closer to Earth than an average night and appears more than five times brighter than normal.

You can see Mars as a bright red dot near the moon all night. The opposition officially occurs with the full moon on July 27, but March will appear larger and clearer than normal at the beginning of August, so you have plenty of time to see it!