The Draconid meteor shower has returned to the skies for its annual show – and while this year’s spectacle may pale in comparison to past years, experts believe the 2025 light show could be stronger than ever .
From October 6 to October 10, lucky Americans living in areas with limited air pollution will be able to catch the Draconids, including one of the most famous showers involving the dragon constellation Draco.
Meteors are few and far between during the shower, with about 10 meteors visible per hour during their peak on the evenings of October 7 and October 8.
The Draconids are one of the weakest visible showers, occurring at a speed of only 21 kilometers per second. However, occasionally, the playful dragon picks up speed and more than 1,000 meteors per hour have been recorded. Although it is not expected to happen this year, the dragon may awaken in 2025.
It’s dependent on ideal conditions: clear skies, little light pollution, and the ability to survive late at night.
“The draconids are what I call an all-or-nothing shower,” said Bill Cook, head of NASA’s Meteorite Environment Office. smithsonian magazine,
“If there is any outrage, it would be appropriate to go out and see. But normal draconid activity, they’re very weak, because they move very slowly. So, in a typical Draconid year, you might see two to three meteors per hour, and that’s almost nothing.
This intensity is dependent on the gravitational pull of other planets, primarily Jupiter, Cook said. Drag can affect the comet’s trajectory, pulling it closer to or away from Earth.
Draco, the constellation around which the meteors will fall, is fortunately relatively easy to spot due to its proximity to the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper, which are two of the easiest constellations to find for the average space-lover.
The Draconids were first discovered in the winter of 1900 by French astronomer Michel Giacobini at the University of Nice, France. It was later recovered by Ernst Zinner in 1913.
The source, comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner, is named after both discoverers. Its streak leaves a trail of rock and ice, which as it passes Earth burns up to form the Draconid meteor shower.
Despite most of the meteor shower not being visible from the Big Apple field, a Meteorite fell in New Jersey In July the streaks were visible in the sky just above the Statue of Liberty.
