Meteor shower, total eclipse to play out on Vietnamese sky

The annual Delta Aquarids meteor shower, which returns every July, will peak this Saturday with a spectacular light show of around 20 shooting stars per hour, a Vietnam News Agency report says.

Dang Vu Tuan Son, chairman of the Vietnam Amateur Astronomy Club, said the best time to view the shower in Vietnam will be around 2 a.m. until dawn on Saturday (July 28).

And in an extraordinary coincidence, a total lunar eclipse, the longest of its kind of the 21st century, will take place the very early hours the same day.

The eclipse will last five hours, from 0:14 a.m. to 6:28 a.m., with the total eclipse extending from 2:30 a.m. to 4:13 a.m. in Vietnam. If you miss the opportunity, you will have to wait until 2021 to see another lunar eclipse.

Experts have said that the light from the full moon could dim the sparkle of the meteor shower.

People are advised to use binoculars, telescopes or cameras to watch the amazing astronomical phenomena. However, weather forecasters have predicted that it is likely to be loudy and rainy in some parts of the country.