Stargazers in the northern hemisphere will have the chance to observe the Draconid meteor shower as it peaks Monday evening into early Tuesday morning.
The Draconids are somewhat of an oddity when it comes to meteor showers, in that they will be most visible in the evening hours rather than the early morning, according to EarthSky. The meteor shower's radiant point − the point from which they appear to emanate from − is the Draco, or dragon, constellation, which is at it's highest point in the evening.
The moon will only be 27% illuminated Monday night into Tuesday, per EarthSky, allowing for better visibility.
Best viewing for the Draconids is expected to be the later evening hours of Oct. 7 and into the early morning of Oct. 8.
Compared to something like the Perseid meteor shower, the Draconids are a bit more demure. At most, one might see up to 10 meteors streaking across the night sky per hour. The Draconids are also notable for their relatively slow speed as they enter Earth's atmosphere − around 23 kilometers, or 14 miles, per second − meaning that those meteors that can be seen may appear for a full 1-2 seconds.
The reason for the relative lack of meteor activity with the Draconids lays with Jupiter and its immense gravity. As the comet 21p/Giacobini-Zinner − the source of the Draconids − makes its more than six year orbit around the sun, its long tail of ice bits and rock are often drawn closer to the gas giant. Occasionally, though, the Draconids can approach closer to Earth and put on a show. In 1933 and 1946, thousands of meteors were sighted per hour, and in 1985, 1998 and 2018 there were also increased meteor counts. In 2011, European observers were able to see more than 600 meteors in one hour, according to EarthSky.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected]
