Draconid meteor shower: How to see the Draconids this October 2023

This 12 months, the Draconid meteor bathe is occurring between 6 and 10 October, with its peak anticipated on 9 October. The Draconids are one in every of the much less energetic meteor showers and are solely seen from the northern hemisphere. If you’re in the proper space, it’s nonetheless price wanting as a result of there will likely be little moonlight round the time of the peak, thanks to the moon being in its final quarter, so if in case you have darkish and clear skies you may anticipate to see about 10 meteors per hour.

What are meteor showers?

Meteors are flashes of sunshine attributable to particles from house crashing into our ambiance. Showers of them occur when Earth passes by way of clouds of fabric left in the wake of comets. These tiny grains of mud or rock enter the ambiance at such excessive speeds that the friction between them and the air makes them fritter away, producing a flash throughout the sky. Most of the items of particles that trigger meteors are about the dimension of a grain of rice.

The Draconids are attributable to the particles left by comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, which takes round 6.5 years to orbit the solar and final handed by Earth in 2018. Because the meteors come from this comet, the show is also called the Giacobinids.

How can I watch the Draconids?

As with any meteor bathe, you don’t want to pinpoint its supply to see it. The meteors will fly throughout the sky in all instructions, however this one is known as after the constellation it radiates from: Draco.

The greatest means to watch is to decide a night with no cloud and go someplace away from gentle air pollution, with the optimum time normally simply after midnight. Lie or sit again and watch the sky, ready for flashes of sunshine to streak throughout it. You will know in the event you see a meteor as a result of they transfer throughout the sky in a matter of seconds.

How do I discover Draco?

One means to discover the constellation Draco, the place the meteors radiate from, is to use a group of stars known as the summer season triangle. This is made up of three vibrant stars – Altair, Deneb and Vega – and it’s seen in the east as quickly as the solar has set. Draw a line from Altair, the closest star in the triangle to the horizon, to Vega, the star in the high proper, then carry on going and you’ll quickly attain Draco.

Another means to discover Draco makes use of the constellation Ursa Major, particularly the sample inside it referred to as the Plough or the Big Dipper. Follow the line made by becoming a member of the two outer stars of the bowl of the Big Dipper to the pole star, Polaris. Once you get to Polaris, draw an imaginary line perpendicular and to the left, and this factors in direction of Draco.