How to watch the Draconid meteor shower

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Keep your eyes on the night sky to see the elusive Draconid meteor shower, which is expected to peak Monday evening and into early Tuesday.

Unlike many meteor showers, Draconids are not the kind you’ll have to stay up late to see because the shower is most visible just after nightfall and throughout the evening hours, rather than in the early morning, according to EarthSky. The moon will be only 27% illuminated in its current phase, which will allow for better viewing of the faint meteors once night falls.

However, the Draconic Meteor Shower is on the sparse side. Expect to see a few meteors – about 10 at most – streaking across the sky per hour. The peak of the meteor shower is expected to occur at 11 pm EST on Monday.

Meteor showers occur when our planet passes through debris trails left by comets and asteroids, which spew out bits of rock and ice as they orbit the sun. Draconids are the result of Earth intersecting such a path from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner when it approaches the comet’s orbit in October each year.

The shower gets its name because the meteors appear to be coming from the direction of the constellation Draco. But Dracobini are sometimes referred to as Jacobinians in honor of the comet’s discoverer, Michele Giacobini, who discovered the celestial body In 1900.

Draconid meteors move slower than those seen during other showers, meaning they can only be visible for a second or two.

The chance to witness a meteor shower streaking across the sky, called a meteor storm, can be an enthralling prospect for stargazers. Although it’s a “sleepy” shower compared to some of the larger showers — which typically produce more meteors more quickly — later this year, the “Dragon” could be full of surprises.

Meteor storms can occur when comet debris is concentrated near the comet, rather than spread out, as Earth passes through the path. Hundreds or thousands of meteors can be seen per hour during a meteor storm.

Draconids caused meteor storms in 1933 and 1946, showering thousands of meteors per hour, and European skygazers reported more than 600 meteors per hour during the event in 2011.

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner completes an orbit around the Sun about every seven years, and the last time it approached Earth in September 2018, many reported seeing an explosion during the meteor shower. The comet’s next approach won’t happen until 2025, but an explosion is always possible.

Viewers from the Southern Hemisphere will only have a limited opportunity to see the shower once darkness falls on Monday because the constellation Draco doesn’t really rise above the horizon in that part of the world, according to EarthSky.

The best way to view the meteor shower is to sit in a reclining lawn chair or lie on your back and look up at the sky with a wide view. No special equipment is needed, but if you want the best viewing conditions, it helps to be as far away from artificial light as possible.

If you live in an urban area, you may want to drive to avoid city lights, which may make the meteor shower appear faint. Scientists from NASA said camping in the country could triple the number of visible meteors.

Don’t forget to bring your camera before going out. Meteor showers are a great opportunity for time-lapse videos and long exposure photography.

The next full moon, the Hunter’s Moon, which will occur on October 17, will be a supermoon and the closest one of the year will be at 222,095 miles (357,428 kilometers).

The Beaver Moon will occur on November 15, and the last full moon of the year will be the Cold Moon on December 15.

Meanwhile, skygazers can expect a busy meteor shower season through the end of 2024. Here are the peak dates for the upcoming celestial activity, according to American Meteor Society:

Algebraids: October 20-21

Southern Supplies: November 4-5

Northern Trades: November 11-12

Leonid: November 17-18

Gemini: December 13-14

Ursides: December 21-22