This year’s Draconids meteor shower is set to peak this coming Friday, Oct. 7. Experts suggest to see the shower before nightfall but the first quarter moon could make it hard for some observers to enjoy the event.
The meteor shower usually peaks around Oct. 7 and 8. Experts suggest catching it right after the sun sets and before nightfall because its radiant point is highest during dusk, timeanddate reports. Viewers can expect from 10 up to 20 meteors, which is modest compared to other well-known meteor showers that occur every year.
Draconids meteor shower, sometimes called the Giacobinids, will be best viewed by those who live in temperate and far-northern latitudes, such as the US, Canada, Europe and northern Asia. Those who live closer to the Equator in the Southern Hemisphere can sometimes spot a few meteors from the event.
Even those who live in the farthest north of Australia would still have a hard time watching the meteor shower. Earthsky.org states that if you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you should try watching out for the Draconids meteor shower as it gets really dark, but do not expect anything.
This meteor shower gets its name from the constellation Draco the Dragon. It is actually the dust debris left by a comet named 21 P/Giacobini-Zinner.
Michel Giacobini first saw this comet on December 20, 1900. The comet’s orbital period is about 6.6 years, which means that it takes about 6.6 years for the comet to make a single revolution around the sun.
The Draconids meteor shower is one of the two meteor events that occur this month. The other one is the Orionids meteor shower, which usually peaks around Oct. 21.
Timeanddate suggests going to a location without artificial light to get the best view of the meteor shower. We do not need high-tech gadgets to see it. We can view it with our naked eyes.