Stargazers are in for another astronomical treat next week as the Draconid meteor shower approaches its peak.
This short-lived meteor shower runs between October 6 and October 10 this year, and will hit its peak meteor rate on the night of October 8.
The meteors will appear to come from the shower’s namesake constellation of Draco.
Even though the Draconids are usually one of the least active showers of the calendar, they can still result in a large number of meteors being seen each hour.
How to watch the Draconid meteor shower
This meteor shower is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere during the early evening, unlike most meteor showers, which are often visible in the early morning hours. This is because of how high the radiant is in the skies at nightfall, according to Royal Museums Greenwich.
The meteors can be best seen in places with minimal light pollution, so rural areas are ideal for catching a glimpse of a shooting star.
“Assuming the sky is clear of cloud, to observe the meteor shower it is best to be outside for at least 15-20 minutes to allow for your eyes to adjust to the nighttime,” astronomer Sam Rolfe of the University of Hertfordshire in England told Newsweek.
“If you can go to a darker spot away from light pollution that would be better, but I have seen them from my back garden many times, so not a necessity.
“You don’t need any special equipment, just dress for the temperature in your location as you will be outside for a while.”
Luckily, light pollution from the moon will be minimal this year. The moon will be only 27 percent full on the night of the peak, and will set at around 9 p.m., leaving the rest of the night blissfully dark to watch the meteors.
Clear skies are unfortunately a necessity to spot the shooting stars, so check your local weather forecast before venturing out into the fall night.
What causes the Draconid meteor shower?
The Draconid meteor shower is caused by Earth passing through the debris left by the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. This comet orbits the sun approximately once every 6.6 years, leaving a trail of ice and dust in its wake.
“As they orbit close to the sun, the heat causes the ice to vaporize and release dust and small rocky particles. And this debris spreads along the comet’s orbit, forming a trail,” astronomer Minjae Kim of the University of Warwick previously told Newsweek.
“When Earth passes through this trail, the particles enter our atmosphere at high speeds, burning up and creating visible streaks of light – this is what we call a meteor shower.”
“The intensity of a meteor shower can be determined by the density of the debris and Earth’s path through it.”
The Draconids are not known for being as spectacular as other meteor showers, but occasionally, they can produce a meteor storm.
These outbursts tend to happen every few decades, like in 1933 and 1946, where thousands of meteors were seen each hours. In 1952, 1985, 1998, 2011, and 2018, hundreds of meteors were seen every hour.
“A meteor storm is observed when one thousand or more meteors are seen per hour at the location of the observer. During its peak in 1933, 500 Draconid meteors were seen per minute in Europe. 1946 was also a good year for the Draconids, where 50 -100 were seen per minute in the U.S.,” NASA explained.
The comet last passed the sun in 2018, coming closer to Earth than it had in 72 years, resulting in the 2018 outburst. The comet’s next perihelion—the closest pass to the sun—won’t occur until 2025.
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