Stargazers are in for a treat this week as the Draconid meteor shower returns. While usually a quieter event compared to other showers, the Draconids are famous for their surprises – in 1933 and 1946 they lit up the sky with hundreds of meteors per hour, creating some of the most dazzling shows of the last century.
Meteor showers are caused by a number of meteors – fragments of interplanetary debris – entering Earth’s atmosphere at once, as Earth travels through it.
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What is the Draconid meteor shower?
The Draconid meteor shower comes from the debris of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, a comet discovered by French astronomer Michel Giacobini in the constellation of Aquarius in 1900. It was rediscovered two orbits later by German astronomer Ernst Zinner in 1913.
It tends to be one of the less active meteor showers. That said, in 1933 and 1946, the Draconid meteor shower produced some of the most active displays of the 20th century, producing hundreds of meteors in a single hour. These occurred when the Earth travelled through a denser part of the cometary debris stream.
When does the Draconid meteor shower take place?
The Draconid meteor shower tends to occur in October in the northern hemisphere.
In 2025, the Draconid meteor shower will be active between 6-10 October, peaking around 8 October. This year’s meteor shower occurs around the full Moon, so visibility will be diminished, due to the light emitted by the Moon.
Why are they called the Draconids?
The Draconid meteor shower takes its name from the constellation of Draco, where it seems to originate from.
How to see the Draconid meteor shower
While many other meteor showers are most visible in the early hours of the morning, the Draconids are best seen in the evening, after nightfall. This is because the shower’s radiant point in the Draco constellation (where they seem to originate) is highest in the sky at nightfall. The radiant point of the Draco constellation is in the northern sky, so observers in the southern hemisphere may only be able to witness it if they are close to the equator.
As with all other celestial activity, meteor showers are best viewed in an area with dark skies and low light pollution. This year’s Draconid meteor shower takes place around the time of the full Moon on 7 October, so the viewing conditions won’t be as favourable as in other years.
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Top image credit: Getty Images
