Draconid Meteor Shower

This past weekend marked the annual Draconid Meteor Shower seen in the higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. The best time to look is right at nightfall near Draco the Dragon (constellation between the two Dippers); and no telescope is needed, as it could be seen with the naked eye. The 'shooting stars' you may have seen across the sky are dust and rocks from the comet 21P ("Giacobini-Zinner") that burn up in the atmosphere as the Earth passes through the debris.

"During the 2011 Draconid shower, more than 600 meteors per hour were visible in the sky" (Science Alert), but "although the Draconids have been responsible for some of the most spectacular meteor showers in recorded history, most recently [...] star gazers consider these to be one of the least interesting meteor showers" (Time and Date).

While I was in a location without much light pollution over the weekend, there was still a presence of ambient light around me and also coming from the bright moon. Additionally, it has been a fairly rainy week, so the sky wasn't clear enough for me to be able to observe the Draconids. But luckily, there will be a second opportunity to see a meteor shower - the Orionids - on October 21st. I was disappointed that the cloudy weather ruined my chance to see (as Time and Date called it) these "majestic celestial fireworks" ... but I look forward to the upcoming Orionid shower.

Works Cited

"Draconid Meteor Shower." Timeanddate.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2017.

MacDonald, Fiona. "Don't Miss The Draconid Meteor Shower Peaking This Weekend."ScienceAlert. N.p., 7 Oct. 2017. Web. 7 Oct. 2017.