How to Catch a Draconid Meteor Shower Tonight
October promises to be a great month for astronomical events. Not only does this give two chances of seeing a full moon – including the arrival of Mars – there are also several meteor showers in the night sky graph. As it turns out, one thing is happening this week. Here’s how to catch the Draconid meteor shower tonight.
What is the Draconid meteor shower?
The Draconid meteor shower occurs every year, and some manifestations are more impressive than others. (For example, in 1933, observers in Europe saw up to 500 dragonids per minute.) We are unlikely to see something like this again, but that does not mean that you should not look outside tonight to catch a glimpse of a few shooting stars ( another word for meteors ).
How to watch the Draconid meteor shower
This meteor shower is active every year from 6 to 10 October. It was originally supposed that there would be a peak last night, October 7th, although that was only a guess. Your chances of seeing shooting stars tonight are probably just as good. There may be more options on Saturday night, so watch the skies.
According to EarthSky, regardless of your location, the best time to watch the Draconids meteor shower is at night or early evening, and definitely before midnight. This is because the waning moon (which is about 75% lit) will not rise until mid to late evening, making it darker as darkness falls and increasing your chances of seeing a meteorite image.
According to EarthSky, the meteor shower will be more visible in the northern hemisphere than in the southern, although “even at northern latitudes, the Draconids are generally a very modest shower, offering only a few slow meteors per hour.”
More meteors to come
If the Draconid meteor shower isn’t what you were hoping for (which is entirely possible), don’t worry – you have a different chance of seeing meteors this month. In particular, the Orionids peak falls on the nights from 20 to 21 October. Stay tuned for more astronomical information closer to this date.