Here is how you can watch the Delta Aquarids meteor shower tonight

The Delta Aquarid meteor shower is tonight.

(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

published 28 July 2016

Here is a good reason to leave your house tonight — and no, it's not Pokémon Go. Thursday night is the first major night of the Delta Aquarids meteor shower; the annual event peaks Thursday and Friday, with stargazers able to see up to 20 meteors an hour.

Although the Perseids meteor shower is the better known celestial summer event, with more than 150 meteors per hour flickering through the sky (so keep your eyes peeled August 11, 12, and 13), the Delta Aquarids is still nothing to sneeze at. The meteors are thought to come from a comet discovered in 1986, 96P Machholz, USA Today reports, and are most likely to be spotted in the late evening, or around 2 or 3 a.m. For the best chance at seeing some shooting stars, look to the south.

It doesn't much matter where you live, either, as NASA reassured stargazers that most of the world can see the Delta Aquarids. "With clear, dark skies away from city lights, you can see meteors any time after full dark, with peak viewing times in the two hours before dawn (your local time)," NASA said. Luckily, with the moon a waning crescent this evening, it will be dark enough to spot the meteors as they burn up at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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