Solar Activity and the Southern Delta Aquarid Meteor Shower

Source - Space Weather News for July 28, 2010: http://spaceweather.com

SOLAR ACTIVITY PICKS UP: Earlier today, magnetic fields looping over the sun's southeastern limb became unstable and erupted. The blast produced a bright, towering prominence that attracted the attention of amateur astronomers around the world. Meanwhile, on the sun's northeastern limb, a big new sunspot is emerging and it is crackling with C-class solar flares. Visit http://spaceweather.com for images and movies.

METEOR SHOWER: The University of Western Ontario meteor radar is picking up strong returns from the Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower, which peaks on July 28th. Sky watchers (particularly in the southern hemisphere) should be alert for meteors between about 10 pm and dawn. "Visual rates could be as high as 20 per hour," notes Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, "although glare from the nearly full Moon will make many of the fainter meteors difficult to see."

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