After the
Draconids, a second meteor shower called the Orionids will arrive later in October.
The
Draconid meteor shower is caused by the Earth's atmosphere coming into contact with the stream of debris left by the comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner.
The
Draconids offer a slightly different opportunity than most meteor showers because they're best visible after sunset rather than in the early morning like most shower are.
But, the
Draconid is as unpredictable as it is remarkable, and in 2011 lucky European observers saw a massive 600 meteors an hour.
The
Draconids appear exceptionally slow-moving as meteors go--partly because they are catching up to Earth from behind, and also because their short-period orbit means they don't fall sunward from very far out.
Taking advantage of rather better conditions, Richard Fleet, from near Pewsey in Wiltshire, saw 22
Draconids in a 43-minute watch beginning shortly after 20:00 UT; most were 2nd or 3rd magnitude and his best spell was three
Draconids in a minute at 20:11.
For people who miss the
Draconids, though, Meteor Shower Guide and Meteor Shower Calendar offer an alternative - the Northern Taurids shower, which starts on October 20 and peaks on November 12.
Washington, June 2 (ANI): Come October 8 and sky gazers will be treated with the biggest meteor shower of a lifetime - the
Draconid shower is expected to produce 1,000 meteors per hour this year.
Another one which has the advantage of new moon, the
Draconid meteor shower is also called the Giacobinids.
The Giacobinid (or October
Draconid) meteor showers were among the most spectacular of the last century.
Cooke added: "Even if the
Draconids were a full-scale meteor storm I would be confident that the space station (officials) would take the right steps to mitigate the risk." (ANI)
Unknown until recently were the slow-moving Gamma
Draconids (GDR) coming out of the north.